Stone Ranch Elementary students, moms donate ponytails to charity

In front of the entire Stone Ranch Elementary student body, 10 students and four moms had their ponytails cut off on Wednesday morning to help children and young adults without hair.

An additional student, mom and staff member also brought their ponytails that had been cut off earlier.

The 4S Ranch campus’ sixth annual ponytail drive benefitting Locks of Love was held during a school assembly. This year’s event was organized by administrative assistant Alexis McGruder and promoted by ponytail drive ambassador Audrey Dennison, a fifth grader who donated her hair several times in the past, but could not this year since it was not yet long enough.

“I think its pretty cool,” Audrey said of the event, adding she was first inspired to donate her hair when as a kindergartner she watched other students donate their ponytails. By second grade her hair was long enough to cut.

“I cut my hair because it seemed like a good cause, I have a lot of hair and it is fun,” Audrey said.

Locks of Love, a non-profit organization, needs ponytails that are at least 10 inches long in order to make natural hair wigs. They are given for free to financially disadvantaged children and young adults under the age of 21 who have long-term medical hair loss.

Danica Quach and her fifth-grade daughter Kayley Vu were among those who lined up to have their locks cut off on Wednesday. Their first of now three donations occurred in 2009, a year before Quach said she was diagnosed with cancer and lost her hair due to chemotherapy.

“I know personally how it feels not to have hair,” Quach said. “A wig helped me professionally. If I was not working (my hair loss) would not have been so much of an impact, but (a wig) helped a lot. It made me feel more normal.”

She said the drive is also a good way to demonstrate to students how to be caring and compassionate.

Kayley said she wanted to donate 12 inches of her hair because she wanted to “support (those with hair loss) and help them feel better about themselves.”

“I know people who have had cancer and need my hair more than I need it,” said fifth grader Maya Serna, who donated for the second time.

Fifth grader Pristine Thai said she decided to donate her hair two months ago “because I have a lot of hair, it’s hard to brush every morning and it’s for a good cause.”

“This is wonderful,” Principal Lisa Danzer said about the event. “It’s a really special way to show caring for other kids. We have a pretty large group every year and some donate multiple times.

“We have staff, parents and kids donate and some are planning for it next year,” Danzer said. “It’s a way of caring for kids who are sick.”

She said teachers use the drive as a way to talk about the school’s character program and use it as an example of service to others, one of many opportunities presented each year at the school.

“We have a fine history of caring (at Stone Ranch),” Danzer said.

McGruder said the drive has become an annual tradition not because school staff push for it, but because it is requested by students.

“Students ask for it,” she said. “They know about it and want to do it.”

This year’s hair donors were second graders Kathleen Clark and Victoria Hom; third graders Khyla Cunha, Edie Davies and Lucy Kaas; fourth graders Nina Kermani, Anika Sharma and Kristine Zhou; fifth graders Maya Serna, Pristine Thai and Kayley Vu; moms Alice Chang, Courtney Davies, May Pidding, Danica Quach and Gloria Serna; and staff member Natalie Reyes.