Heather Fuller reached out to a hair salon in Corry, Pa., about donating her hair to a nonprofit. Pamela Walto, the owner of Shear Cuts By Pamela, helped her out.

“She called me and wanted to donate to a nonprofit,” Walton said. “We chose Wigs For Kids, which helps kids affected by cancer.”

Wigs For Kids was formed in 1981 and is based in Ohio to help kids suffering with the physical and mental effects of losing their hair, whether it is from cancer or other treatments such as alopecia, trichotillomania, burns, chemotherapy, or any other medical cause.

Wigs For Kids accepts hair lengths of 12 inches or longer, but encourages donations of 14 inches or more. Hair collected by donation is made into wigs and is provided to kids.

Heather Fuller of Jamestown recently donated several inches of hair to Wigs For Kids, a nonprofit organization that helps kids impacted by hair loss. Submitted photo

Fuller donated two, 22-inch braids and two, 24-inch braids of her hair.

Walton said donations such as Fuller’s make a big impact for these kids.

“It helps the kids a lot,” Fulton said. “There are a lot of kids that go through cancer or have medical issues and Wigs For Kids makes these wigs at no charge for them.”

For Fuller, it was her first time donating.

“It was kind of emotional for me because it was a tough decision,” Fuller said. “The grow back process is a little scary but I knew it was the right thing to do.”

Working at a hospital, Fuller said she knew that many people out there needed her hair more than she did, and she was at peace with her decision.

“For these children, it is something that they can’t control and I can,” she said. “It’s something they can really benefit from. Cancer is hard enough and losing your hair is also hard. Your hair is something that you can control and change when life gets hard, whether by dying it or cutting it. So, this is something I can do to give back to them.”