As planned, Marquez Elementary School fifth grader Sedona Zinszer had 10 inches of her hair cut off on Saturday evening during the first Pacific Palisades Relay for Life, which raised funds for the American Cancer Society, honored cancer survivors and remembered those who have lost the fight. Zinszer, age 10, donated her hair to Locks of Love, an organization that has helped over 1,000 children by providing wigs for those who do not have hair. ‘Sedona had been thinking about donating her hair for months,’ said Zinszer’s mom, Courtney, a cancer survivor. ‘There’s no way I could’ve done it at her age.’ Zinszer was only 3 when her mom had to undergo chemotherapy treatment that caused her to lose her hair, and when asked why she decided to donate her hair, she told the Palisadian-Post, ‘My mom had cancer and hated not having hair, so she would wear a hat all the time. You could just imagine a kid not having hair.’ Besides, Zinszer added, ‘It was a hassle to brush my hair every morning.’ She raised close to $2,000 by having people sponsor her per inch of hair cut, and was awarded a prize for the youngest participant to raise that much money. Solis Salon stylist Amy Powell performed the haircut at the lower Marquez playground before Saturday’s Luminaria Ceremony while close to 20 people watched. On Sunday, Zinszer went back to Powell’this time at her salon on Swarthmore’so that the stylist could buzz her hair even shorter and clean up the rough cut done for the purpose of cutting the main pony tail. Zinszer said her fellow students at Marquez ‘thought it was really cool’ that she had cut her hair for Locks of Love. She also enjoyed hearing that that another student had donated hair. If others are thinking of doing the same, Zinszer said, ‘I would tell them it’s a good idea and a good cause.’
This page is available to subscribers. Click here to sign in or get access.
