Richmond woman donating locks for young cancer patients
Stephanie Dodge’s hair was so short as a child, she later pledged to never sport the style again.
That’s about to change.
The 24-year-old Richmond woman is donating her half-metre (20-inch) -long hair to Wigs for Kids B.C., a non-profit organization that provides human-hair wigs to children with hair loss due to cancer treatment or other serious illnesses.
“The cause is so great,” said Dodge, a Matthew McNair Secondary School alumnus.
“Kids who go through cancer and lose their hair and go through chemo deserve to have what everybody else has.”
Dodge is now collecting pledges ahead of the hair-cutting event at Hennessey salon at Richmond Centre mall on Jan. 13, 2013. All donations go to Wigs for Kids B.C., a volunteer driven organization.
Bev Friesen founded Wigs for Kids B.C. when she learned human hair wigs cost up to $3,000 and no organizations existed to help cover the cost.
She said at any given time there are over 1,000 children undergoing cancer treatment at B.C. Children’s Hospital. Most patients lose their hair temporarily, some permanently.
“Having a proper-fitting wig that looks and feels like the real thing is important to the child’s recovery,” said Friesen. “Some children are so upset when they lose their hair, they refuse to return to school. Some even refuse to leave the house.
“Having a human hair wig means that when the child is able to resume their normal activities, their baldness is one question they don’t have to answer.”
Pledges can be made directly with Dodge, who works as manager of the Rinkside Grill and Cafe at Richmond Ice Centre, or through wigsforkidsbc.com.
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