Crossroads Continues Beautiful Tradition for Cancer Patients

It began last year in South Brunswick as a idea by two eighth-grade students at Crossroads South Middle School who simply wanted to perform a small act to help people fighting cancer.

Students Elizabeth Kenny and Janine Lagarnne were interested in donating their hair to be turned into wigs for cancer patients and worked to get more students involved. Before they knew it, nearly 50 girls signed up to have their locks chopped for the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program last year.

While the two girls may have moved on to South Brunswick High School, the tradition they started is going strong, as both Crossroads middle schools held large donation events last week.

"I saw last year where another school participated in the program, so I went to (Crossroads North Principal) Mark Daniels and asked if we could do it," said Crossroads North Social Studies teacher Willa Laskowitz, who organized the event. "We were overwhelmed by the response and had about 60 students and staff sign up."

Beautiful Lengths is a partnership between Pantene and the American Cancer Society, and has donated 18,000 free real-hair wigs to the ACS wig banks to be distributed to cancer patients across the country. 

In anticipation of the school-wide event, Laskowitz sent out notifications early in the school year and sent out bulletins throughout the year to keep the female students engaged with the idea.

"I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of students who agreed to participate," Daniels said. "It was very well received by the kids and was a great way to end the year on a positive note. We do a lot of philanthropy programs that require money to support them, but this was different. This was students giving a part of themselves and giving something that doesn't come with a price tag. It helps a number of people in great need, and it's a way for students to give in a practical way."

As she looked at the students lined up from one end of the gym to the other, Laskowitz said she marveled at the outpouring of support and participation from the students, staff and volunteers.

"It inspired me to cut my hair as well with them, and it was something we all did together in support of a good cause," she said. "When I saw the kids all doing it, I was brought to tears and was so proud of them. At the end of the day, one of the kids said I can't wait to do it again next year. So it's great to see that they believe in it so much."

Daniels added that the event is simply a continuation of the values they seek to impart in the students throughout their education in South Brunswick.

"At this age, developmentally children are starting to see themselves and looking at the impact they can have on society," he noted. "They're becoming motivated and want to give of themselves and their time for a specific cause. Beautiful Lengths falls in line with a number of initiatives we do. They can see the outcome of the work as students, and that's meaningful. Some initiatives are fundraisers where they contribute a monetary sum to a charity or members of the community, but this is something unique. 

"I equate it to the model for organ donation, where you take something that's part of you and you're sharing it to help someone get through a difficult time, while they're fighting an illness."

Laskowitz and Daniels also praised the contributions of Lori Reed, who organized the stylists that came in to give their time for the event. Ultimately, this new end of the year tradition at both of the township middle schools has proven to be a practical way young students can give of themselves for a worthy purpose.

"This wasn't a hard sell and it was very tastefully done," Daniels said. "Ms. Laskowitz has started a tradition here that we're looking to continue. It speaks volumes to this community's caring nature and it's a fitting way to end the school year."