San Diego Moms get together to help Locks of Love kids
Congrats to Christy Carroll Highfill, organizer of the increasingly effective (and famous!) San Diego Moms Meetup, for creating another great Meetup -- and for piquing the interest of The San Diego Union Tribune!
Check out how her purpose-driven Meetup (helping Locks of Love kids) made the news by clicking here (or here).
Moms, health spa get together to help Locks of Love kids
By Sharon A. Heilbrunn
UNION-TRIBUNE
June 29, 2006
RANCHO SAN DIEGO – Brittany Will, 9, stared into the mirror at ERoma Skin Care and Day Spa, her flip-flops dangling off the paisley-printed swivel chair.
With a “one-two-three” countdown, stylist Monica Coffey grabbed Brittany's long, brunette ponytail and slowly began snipping it off. Brittany smiled, her dimples peeking through, and shook out her new 'do, which reached just past her ears.
Brittany was the first to get her hair cut at the salon Tuesday for Locks of Love, a nonprofit that provides hairpieces for financially disadvantaged children who have lost their hair because of medical conditions.
“I like long hair but I like to help people,” said Brittany, who attends Lemon Crest Elementary School in Lakeside. “And it won't be so hot in the summer.”
ERoma Day Spa hosted the all-day event, offering a free haircut and style for all donors. The day was organized by the San Diego Moms Meetup Group, a parenting support group that provides weekly “play dates” and social events for mothers and their children.
There are more than 500 Moms members in San Diego County, said Christy Carroll Highfill, who moved here in 2004 and found herself alone with her daughter while her husband was at work with the military.
“I knew no one,” Highfill said. “It was impossible to meet other mothers. I was miserable.”
She joined San Diego Moms Meetup Group, and after attending several events, took over as organizer. In East County, there are more than 150 members, and at least 10 meet up for each activity – including the Locks of Love event.
As Coffey snipped, sheared and shaved Tuesday, she was reminded of her own mother, who is undergoing her second round of chemotherapy.
“This is a cause that's close to my heart and just happens to be my trade,” she said.
Six to 10 donated ponytails go into each hairpiece Locks of Love provides, according to the organization's Web site. Each hairpiece would cost at least $3,000 to purchase.
Hair must be healthy and at least 10 inches long to donate. At the end of the day, 11 ponytails were collected, for a total of about 140 inches of hair.
“We've already decided we'll do this event again in December,” Highfill said. “And next time, we want 20 ponytails.”
For more information, visit www.sandiegomoms.org or www.locksoflove.org.