By Robert Hudson

The Selma Times-Journal

While some people see getting a haircut as a necessity, a local resident saw it as an opportunity to make a difference in a child’s life.

Dr. Frances Kendrick, a veterinarian at Valley Creek Veterinary Hospital, donated some of her hair to Locks of Love, a nonprofit organization that uses hair to make wigs for children suffering from medical hair loss.

“I donate my hair for children who lose their hair through alopecia diseases or from cancer treatment,” Kendrick said.

According to Locks of Love’s website, the organization’s mission is to “return a sense of self confidence and normalcy to children suffering from hair loss by utilizing donated ponytails to proved the highest quality hair prosthetics to financially disadvantaged children.”

Locks of Love donates the wigs to children free of charge or on a sliding scale, based on financial need.

Kendrick said this is her second time donating her hair to the organization. She had been growing her hair for two years in order to donate to Locks of Love.

Kendrick allowed her friend and one of her clients at Valley Creek Veterinary Hospital, Kim Skelton, to perform the haircut at her shop, A Cut Above, on Citizens Parkway.

Kendrick said she got the idea to donate to Locks of Love when she saw pictures of other people doing so and when she heard the hair could be used to help children.

“I just really thought it’d be a nice thing to do,” Kendrick said. “It’s also good because, for younger children, they don’t sell wigs that can fit them.”