BAINBRIDGE – In February of last year, Gina Haddad lopped off her lovely brunette locks in support of a charitable initiative looking to gather a million inches of hair to make natural wigs for women who have lost their hair due to cancer treatments.
Now the Bainbridge-Guilford third grader is ready to do it all over again, this time in memory of a favorite teacher who passed away last summer after losing her own fight with cancer.
On Saturday, she will cut her hair once more, donating at least 8 inches to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. And she is challenging others to do the same, during the Second annual Hair to Spare Challenge. The event, organized by Gina’s mother, Robin Haddad, will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on May 8 at the Bainbridge Town Hall.
“Last year ... with the help of the loving people of Bainbridge and the surrounding communities we were able to send in 52 ponytails,” she said. Robin Haddad and her younger daughter, Valerie also cut their hair during the first Hair To Spare event. All told, their local effort contributed 500 inches of hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths.
According to the Bainbridge mom, each wig takes from four to six months and six ponytails worth of hair to create. They are then made available at no cost to women who need them through a collaboration between the Entertainment Industry Foundation and the American Cancer Society.
Even though Haddad and her youngest won’t be participating this year (they don’t have the 8 inches necessary), it is a cause all three “Haddad Girls” feel passionately about.
“A real-hair wig allows a woman to look in the mirror and at least see a familiar face while she fights to regain a sense of normalcy in her life,” explained Haddad. “They help make a women feel whole again during and after the biggest battle of her life.”
Those interested in donating their ponytail, must have at least 8 inches of hair “to spare,” she explained. Two local hair stylists, Jessie Hogancamp and Tamara Kiss, will be volunteering their time on May 8 to do the actual cutting.
Last year, the event was dedicated to Theresa Davis. At the time, Davis, who was Gina’s teacher at Greenlawn Elementary School, had been recently diagnosed with Stage 2 non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
This year’s Hair to Spare challenge is in memory of another of Gina’s teachers: Ellie Taggart.
According to Haddad, it was Gina’s idea to dedicate the effort to Taggart, who ran the summer reading program at Greenlawn. Taggart, who had supported the initial Hair to Spare effort was diagnosed with cancer last February. She passed away in June.
Even though it has been nearly a year since her friend’s death, Haddad still gets emotional when speaking of her.
“Her love of reading and helping children was bigger than this world. She was so full of life,” she said, of the woman she describes as “a wonderful wife, mother of two girls, excellent teacher, a great friend (and) a fellow scrap booker that was just taken too early in life.”
For more information on the Hair to Spare Challenge, or to get involved, contact Haddad by phone at 967-7301 or via e-mail at hairtospare@live.com. Information about Pantene Beautiful Lengths is available at www.beautifullengths.com.