Page 22 - South Mississippi Living - June, 2019

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22 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • June 2019
Adrianë Hatch, Elle Wheat and Kelsey Lee.
Hancock Co. High students donating their hair at the pep rally!
Teaming
for
up
Ponytail Drive
Generally speaking, long flowing locks are important to high school girls. However, that didn’t stop 20 Hancock County High School students from
the unselfish act of donating their hair to the Pink Heart Funds, an organization that provides wigs for cancer patients. The school had its first ever ponytail drive with the assistance of three stylists from the Chuck Kelly Salon & Spa in Gulfport – Elle Wheat, Kelsey Lee and Adrianë Hatch.
Pink Heart Funds
P.O. Box 1047, Long Beach 228.575.8299 www.pinkheartfunds.org
story by Lynn Lofton photos courtesy of Elle Wheat
“It was also a first time for all of us, and it was really empowering to watch women helping women,” Elle Wheat said. “I thought it was super cool for these girls to donate their hair because a lot of girls that age think of their hair as a security blanket.”
the students in a pep rally, explaining what Pink Heart Funds does, before the
hair cutting began. Wheat says there was good music playing and a good vibe all around.
The event was sponsored by the school’s Interact Club under the leadership of tenth grade English teacher Jana Montgomery, a cancer survivor. “Kelsey Lee does Jana Montgomery’s hair
and was approached by her about the ponytail drive,” Wheat said. “For us, it was
a wonderful, humbling experience and we all want to do it again. Young girls are often worried about
their looks, but we saw them doing something completely unselfish.”
For 14 years Pink Heart Funds has been serving local women and children who are dealing with cancer treatments or hair loss disorders by providing free wigs to the uninsured and the underinsured.
Also on hand were JoAn Niceley, founder of Pink Heart Funds, and Steve Johnson, president of the non-profit group. They led
Pink Heart Funds takes ponytail donations, accepting hair of all kinds that is at least 10 inches long. Hair donations should be clean and dry, secured with a ponytail holder or braid, and placed in a Ziploc bag.
“One hundred percent of Mississippi donations stay
in the state to help local patients going through cancer and hair loss disorders,” Niceley said. “We are volunteer based, with no administration fees.”