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Sisters donate precious gift

Penticton girls donating hair that will be used to make wigs for cancer patients
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Sisters Maia

At age two, Aleena Proteau had no say about where her dark locks would wind up after her very first haircut, but her mother decided it wouldn’t be the salon floor.

“Aleena (now 7) is my second daughter and at that time she still had her baby hair, which was very nice and very long. We decided we wanted the hair going somewhere, we didn’t want to waste it,” said Tanya, who has lost friends and family to cancer.

“Since then, I just kept reminding Aleena and Maia (10) what this is all about and they both wanted to do it.”

In January both girls decided to get their hair cut and take it to the downtown Penticton office of the Canadian Cancer Society.

While their locks went to help cancer victims, Maia had a more personal reason for wanting to donate.

“My friend Alex has no hair (a condition called hypotrichosis) and needed a little help,” said the 10-year-old.

“The boys at school teased me, called me Miley Cyrus (short-haired singer/actress) but I think I will do it again. It is important to help.”

Not surprisingly both parents are very proud of their girls and are encouraging them to continue to keep on giving.

“It’s something their hearts go out to that they feel they can contribute to and I think it’s pretty brave to do Miley Cyrus? that’s the first time I’ve heard of that one, but it’s just boys,” said the girls’ father, James.

“But, like I told the lady at the cancer society maybe they’ll go to school with short hair and other friends will ask about it and maybe there will be a bunch of donations coming in.

Hopefully it will open up the eyes of the other kids as to the need for it.

“Cancer victims go through enough without having to look like they’re cancer victims.”

Cancer society volunteer Ron Brace remembers the day the family came to drop off the hair.

“The thing that impressed me was that the girls were just so happy and enthused about doing it and that they had done it on their own,” said Brace.

“It was just phenomenal, it’s enlightening and as a cancer survivor myself it just makes this (volunteering) so worthwhile.”

After it is donated the hair is processed and made into wigs which are then given free of charge to those undergoing cancer treatment.

In most cases it should not be chemically treated (colouring, bleach or perm) be clean, dry and not swept from the floor.

Hair must also be a minimum length, usually 20-30 centimetres (eight to 10 inches) depending on where it is being processed.

For more information about donations go to www.cancer.ca, visit the society office at 101- 166 Main St or call 250-490-9681.