A gym on Sunnyside High School's campus didn't serve its usual purpose Wednesday. It was a hair salon.
Sunnyside students from the Joint Technological Education District's Cosmetology Program cut hair and dropped the locks in bags to be sent to Pantene Beautiful Lengths, a charity that makes real-hair wigs to give to women who have lost their hair to cancer.
"It makes me feel good because someone else gets to wear my hair," second-grader Eva Zarony said after close to 10 inches of her hair was snipped off.
Eva's donation to Pantene Beautiful Lengths was part of the second annual Hair Donation Drive put on by members of Sunnyside's chapter of the National Honor Society.
Any person from the community was invited to donate hair, but most were teachers and staff at Sunnyside. Eva attends Santa Cruz Catholic School.
People are also reading…
Eighteen people contributed ponytails - each at least 8 inches long - at the event.
"We wanted to help our community," said Mari Celis, a Sunnyside junior and member of the honor society. "There are a lot of people at Sunnyside who have family members and parents that are cancer patients. We thought this was a great way to show people support and that we care."
Sunnyside sophomore Yolanda Garcia didn't decide to shed eight inches of her long, brown hair until Wednesday morning.
She feared she couldn't carry off shoulder-length hair.
"I know I don't look good with short hair, but it's something I had to do because it's for a good cause," she said.
Society places a lot of value on hair and it must be difficult for a woman who has lost her hair to cancer, Garcia said.
Daniela Romero, a Sunnyside senior, didn't need much convincing to cut her hair.
"My hair can grow," she said. "I can have it back and there's people that can't grow their hair, like cancer patients."
Contact reporter Andrea Rivera at arivera@azstarnet.com or 807-8430.
