Friday, February 19, 2010

Elissa Donates Hair for Cancer Patients


Sophomore Elissa Goeke has a history of hair donation. After talking with Elissa, I learned that she first donated her hair when she was in the 6th grade. Prior to that, she'd always had long hair, so it was quite a change for her to have 10 inches taken off at once. That first time, she donated to Locks for Love, and the hair was used to make wigs for children who had one of the diseases that causes hair loss.

This past Christmas, she once again donated 10 " of hair. This time it was for Pantene Beautiful Lengths, and they have partnered with American Cancer Society to help provide wigs for women fighting Cancer. They use real human hair to create more realistic wigs for cancer patients. Elissa had this to say about why she wanted to donate her hair: "I feel like it's the least I can do for people who are suffering with such debilitating diseases. I read online that it takes about six donations to make a single wig, so I figure I better start growing my hair out again."
What a special gift to give someone. I'm sure your donation is very much appreciated by the women who have lost their hair to one of these diseases, and that's such a wonderful gift to give. I'll bet this won't be the last time Elissa's locks will be given to someone in need. Thanks for sharing, Elissa, not just your hair, but also your story.
(If you notice too, she was wearing her NESCAC Volleyball shirt in the picture! What you don't see is that on the back is a big pink ribbon to promote Breast Cancer Awareness by the Conference Volleyball Teams. Elissa has now taken that awareness into action--twice! Nice job!)

Monday, February 8, 2010

Reisa Graduates on Skis!


Congratulations to Reisa, who is now officially an alum of Middlebury College! The February Graduation is a very special an unique ceremony, culminating with a group "ski" down the Allen run at the College Snowbowl for the entire "Feb Class: 2009.5" As you can see from the close up, Reisa had a big pink scarf on, and was on a snowboard, but I still had trouble finding her amongst the 90 or so graduates in black cap and gown and on various winter sport gear. They snowboard, ski, snowshoe, telemark, ride in a sleds pulled by other classmates etc. It's a very fun atmosphere as family and friends congregate at the bottom of the hill and wait for all the graduates to get to the top of the mountain and then make their way down where we can start to see them. As usual for the Feb Graduation, it was bitterly cold; however, it was also beautiful and sunny. Congratulations, Reisa!!