Nazareth Area Friends Donate 28 Inches of Hair for Cancer Patients

Three friends. Twenty-eight inches of hair. One charity.

This past spring, Julie Lindfeldt, Kadison Landes and Carissa Peck, who are all 9 years old, made the decision to donate their hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths, according to Gosia Lindfeldt, Julie's mother.

In an e-mail to Patch, Kadison, of , is quoted as saying she not only wanted to help a charity, but she also wanted a shorter hairstyle.

"I also did it because my dad always does charity stuff, and I wanted to follow in his footprints," Kadison said.

Kadison, who donated 8 inches of hair, will head to the fourth grade at in the fall.

Carissa, of , also donated 8 inches.

When asked why she joined her friends in the donation plan, Carissa said, "We are supposed to help people. So I wanted to help the sick kids."

Carissa will soon be a fourth-grader at in Nazareth.

Julie's family, unfortunately, has been directly affected by cancer. At the age of 56, Julie's grandmother lost her battle with cancer, according to Gosia.

"[Julie's grandmother] would be very proud of her first granddaughter and her friends," Gosia said.

Julie, who donated 12 inches of hair, remembered that her grandmother had a wig made for her, so she "wanted to help other girls look good when they have to fight cancer in their bodies."

Julie, like Kadison, will head to the fourth grade at Nazareth's intermediate school in the fall.

According to www.pantene.com, Pantene Beautiful Lengths is a partnership between Pantene and the American Cancer Society.

"The role of Pantene is to help women grow long, strong, beautiful hair and provide the funds to turn this hair into free, real-hair wigs for women with cancer," Pantene's website states. "So far, Pantene has donated 24,000 free, real-hair wigs to the American Cancer Society’s wig banks, which distribute wigs to cancer patients across the country."

A "cutting ceremony" was held on June 14 at Julie's home in Upper Nazareth. A neighbor, Karen Schott, did the honors. Schott is a hairdresser by day.

"We tried to make a big deal out of it to make the girls feel very special about their selfless gesture," Gosia said. "Karen did all of the measuring and gave the girls cute haircuts after the 'big cut.'"