Students cut teacher's hair

Blacksburg Middle School Band Director Jennifer Cantrell had seventh grade students cut her hair Tuesday morning for a donation to Locks of Love. It's not everyday students get to cut a teacher's hair without getting into trouble.

Blacksburg Middle School Band Director Jennifer Cantrell allowed seventh grade students Tuesday morning to cut a foot of her hair. She will donate the hair to Locks of Love, a nonprofit organization that provides hairpieces for children with medical hair loss.

Blacksburg Middle students collected $650 for the right to cut Cantrell's hair.

The money will be part of the school's contribution to Relay for Life, an overnight event held May 8-9 at the track at The Timken Company's Gaffney Bearing Plant. The American Cancer Society event raises money for cancer research and clinical trials aimed at finding more tolerable cancer treatments.

Teachers Cassie Biddix, Amanda Gilfillan and Julie Huskey brought their classes to watch Cantrell's haircut for Locks of Love. Each class raised more than $100 in the Relay for Life fundraiser.

Cantrell wasn't uneasy about letting students armed with sharp scissors near her hair.

While the haircut wasn't quite even, Cantrell said she is just thankful she is able to donate her hair to a worthy cause.

"My sixth grade teacher's son died of cancer. It made me appreciate how cancer affects so many people," Cantrell said. "Since I was going to get my hair cut anyway, I thought it would have double the benefit if I donated my hair to Locks of Love. This way I can help someone else."

Locks of Love has helped 2,000 people since it began in 1998. Thousands of bundles of donated hair arrive each year to the charity based in Lake Worth, Fla.

Volunteers open and sort the donations. It takes a manufacturer between four to six months to assemble a hairpiece made from the human hair.

Most children who receive the donated hair have endured radiation treatment to the brain, severe burns or other medical conditions that result in permanent hair loss.

Cantrell's Locks of Love donation is part of Blacksburg Middle's efforts to raise student awareness about cancer, resource teacher Randy Hawkins said.

"Cancer affects so many people and families," Hawkins said. "This was a good life lesson to let students know how the Relay for Life can make a difference in the effort to make cancer treatments more tolerable. We hope this fundraiser will help find a cure for cancer someday."