Margot Clifford looks at her hair that was cut off during the Cancer Awareness Assembly at St. Mary’s School in Aliso Viejo, CA on Friday, October 20, 2023. The hair is donated to the nonprofit Children with Hair Loss to make wigs for kids battling cancer. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Emily and Thomas Glicksman laughed as they left more than 8 inches of their hair behind on the stage during an assembly at St. Mary’s School.
But their reason for doing so was serious.
Students and parents at St. Mary’s School volunteered to have their hair cut off and donated to the nonprofit Children With Hair Loss to make wigs for kids going through cancer treatments or who have alopecia or other aliments.
Maddy Osvald is cheered before her hair was cut off during the Cancer Awareness Assembly at St. Mary’s School in Aliso Viejo, CA on Friday, October 20, 2023. The hair is donated to the nonprofit Children with Hair Loss to make wigs for kids battling cancer. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Emily and Thomas Glicksman have a laugh after their hair was cut off during the Cancer Awareness Assembly at St. Mary’s School in Aliso Viejo, CA on Friday, October 20, 2023. The hair is donated to the nonprofit Children with Hair Loss to make wigs for kids battling cancer. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Cheryl Bartetzko, with the American Cancer Society, speaks during the Cancer Awareness Assembly at St. Mary’s School in Aliso Viejo, CA on Friday, October 20, 2023. Students and parents each donated at least 8 inches of hair during the assembly. The hair will be used by the nonprofit Children with Hair Loss to make wigs for kids battling cancer. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Students are shown information during the Cancer Awareness Assembly at St. Mary’s School in Aliso Viejo, CA on Friday, October 20, 2023. Students and parents each donated at least 8 inches of hair during the assembly. The hair will be used by the nonprofit Children with Hair Loss to make wigs for kids battling cancer. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Nurse Susan Burnett speaks during the Cancer Awareness Assembly at St. Mary’s School in Aliso Viejo, CA on Friday, October 20, 2023. Students and parents each donated at least 8 inches of hair during the assembly. The hair will be used by the nonprofit Children with Hair Loss to make wigs for kids battling cancer. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Margot Clifford looks at her hair that was cut off during the Cancer Awareness Assembly at St. Mary’s School in Aliso Viejo, CA on Friday, October 20, 2023. The hair is donated to the nonprofit Children with Hair Loss to make wigs for kids battling cancer. (Photo by Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register/SCNG)
This was Thomas Glicksman’s first time volunteering, while his sister marked her fifth donation. It takes her about two years to grow enough to have the 8 inches to cut off.
The siblings said they were donating in memory of their grandmother, who died from cancer.
This is the 12th year the school has held the cancer awareness assembly and hair donation.
“Service is at the heart of everything we do,” said Heather Wilkins, director of marketing and communications at the school. “Throughout October we focus on cancer awareness and this is one way students can really give back, by giving their hair.”
The school also collects items for adults fighting cancer and holds fundraisers to make a donation to the American Cancer Society.
St. Mary’s School in Aliso Viejo serves more than 700 students in preschool through eighth grade.
