The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Girl Scouts learn lesson of giving
Liberty Hastings is days away from turning six years old and is nearing the end of kindergarten. Like most girls her age, she likes to style and brush her hair herself, getting “primped up” for school.
Until recently, that meant working her brush through thick, fire-engine-red hair that fell to the middle of her back. But last week, Liberty had 12 inches of her haircut off, surrounded by her Girl Scout troop. This was no ordinary haircut: Liberty was donating her hair to Locks of Love.
“I didn’t want this to be just about Liberty,” her mother, Tracy Hastings, says of the suggestion to make the haircut a Girl Scout event. “But if these little girls could see that giving to others can be as simple as getting a haircut, that was great.”
The Hastings family has a tradition of giving. Tracy and her husband, Justin, organized a donation drive last December for a group called “Underwearness,” which provides underwear to kids in need. But donating to Locks of Love, which gives wigs made of real hair to kids who have lost their own due to illness, was Liberty’s idea.
“I just like to help other people,” Liberty says, shrugging, her hair now just below her chin.
Liberty has wanted to get her hair cut for some time now. Giving her hair a good trim before school started helped—for a little while. And then, right around Christmas, Liberty took notice of family pictures: her mom had long hair before she got married, and then it was short. When Liberty learned her mom had donated 18 inches of hair to Locks of Love after her wedding, that was it.
“Liberty said, ‘That’s what I want to do. Let’s go get my haircut today. We’re donating to Locks of Love. When can we do this?’” Tracy says.
Liberty’s parents asked her to wait, to make sure it was what she really wanted. But on March 17, Liberty and about 15 Girl Scouts made a day of it. Cut Above owner Jennifer Bunch and Dr. Joanne Huntington taught the girls briefly about chemotherapy and why some people need wigs, keeping it light and brief. Then, while Bunch cut Liberty’s hair, Dr. Huntington taught the girls about personal hygiene so they could earn their Good Hygiene Girl Scout badges.
“We visited about personal hygiene and your basic washing, like your hair and brushing your teeth, bathing, hand washing when flus are going around,” says Dr. Huntington. She gave the girls charts they could use to track all the good habits they develop. Every girl received goody bags with headbands donated by Lavish Boutique and bejeweled combs handmade by one girl’s grandmother.
But the moment they were all there for? When 12 inches of hair got chopped off in a matter of minutes. Well, that was the easy part, according to Liberty. The hard part was waiting for it to happen, when Liberty waited for the rest of the girls to arrive at the Cut Above.
“I was like, ‘C’mon, already!’” Liberty says. “I want to cut my hair!”
Liberty got her wish, and somewhere soon, another little girl fighting leukemia or some other form of cancer will get her wish, too—beautiful, red hair of her own.
