UF Students Initiate Hair Donation Campaign

The University of Findlay Student National Pharmaceutical Association (SNPhA) and Studio M Salon and Spa will host Waves of Hope from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 8, at Studio M Salon and Spa located at 2018 Tiffin Ave. Community members are welcome to attend at no cost.
Anyone with eight or more inches of hair to donate may have their hair cut and styled by local hair stylists. Color treated hair will be accepted as long as it is healthy. Nail stations and additional services will be provided at discounted prices.
All hair will be donated to Children With Hair Loss, a non-profit organization devoted to providing free hair replacement to children between the ages of zero and 19.
SNPhA is a student organization at UF which focuses on serving the poorly represented through various initiatives involving the Heart Association, youth educational services, community service and more.
“We encompass a lot of things in health related fields, and we wanted to do more than focus on community service in general,” said Abbey Herrera, sophomore pharmacy student.
Herrera recently donated 10 inches of her hair after making a promise with a hall mate last year. The promise was that within a year, the two of them would donate hair together.
“In that course of a year, my mom’s best friend was diagnosed with severe breast cancer. It was even more of a push for my hall mate and I to do this,” said Herrera.
When it came time for Herrera to donate her hair, she wanted to make sure that her hair was going to the best organization. Herrera gathered information from professionals and was directed to CWHL.
“In the lives of cancer patients and especially children, it’s such a harsh reality for the families, and it shouldn’t be an extra stress to worry about their appearance,” said Herrera. “CWHL provides free hair replacement kits to 300 children between zero and 19 years of age each year. It felt closer to my heart because these patients are around the age that we are at. People who are coming our of their youth are dealing with this.”
After Herrera donated 10 inches of her hair, she shared how impactful the experience was with other members of SNPhA to see if the organization could help the cause. “I heard from a lot of other people that they were looking to donate hair at the end of the year, so I thought that maybe more people around Findlay would like to have the same opportunity,” said Herrera.
More information and free transportation to the event will be available for UF students from 1 to 5 p.m. in the Alumni Memorial Union North Multipurpose Room.
SNPhA will collect all hair donations and mail them to CWHL after the event, and all participants will receive a certificate in the mail.
Walk-ins are welcome or appointments may be scheduled prior to the event by calling 419-425-8666. For more information regarding Waves of Hope, contact Abbey Herrera at herreraa@findlay.edu.