FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 13, 2008

CONTACT: Diane Nevill, (623) 930-3554, Public Information Officer
Kim Huff, (623) 930-3852, Youth Services Librarian

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Foothills Branch youth services librarians Kim Huff, Kristin Fletcher-Spear and Emily Linkey are cutting their hair later this month. Not only will they be sporting a new hairdo for the summer reading program (which kicks off on May 27), but their long locks are going to people who really need them.

Fletcher-Spear (left) is donating eight inches of her hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. This organization was created to bring people together to share their strength and donate their healthy hair to create free wigs for women who have lost their hair due to cancer treatment. Many women actually refuse cancer treatment due to the fear of hair loss. It takes six pony tales to make one wig.

Huff (center) and Linkey (right) will each be donating ten inches of their hair to Locks of Love, an organization that is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children, under the age of 18, who are suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. Most of the children helped by Locks of Love have lost their hair due to a medical condition called alopecia areata, which has no known cause or cure.