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Sunday, April 15, 2007
Honoring Erica with Locks of Love event
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I wish I had hair.
Enough to whip into, say, a 10-inch braid.
Just wishful thinking on my part.
But if you’re unlike me and can grow hair, you can also help kids.
Remember Erica Paige Whitney?
She was the rising fifth-grader at Mountain Park Elementary who was killed in a car wreck last summer just south of Augusta. She and her family were returning home to Lilburn from Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Her favorite charity was Locks of Love, a nonprofit that provides wigs and hairpieces to kids who lose hair due to medical conditions. The A-B student was preparing to donate locks to the charity for the second time when she died.
In her honor, family and friends are hosting “Chops for Locks — Remembering Erica 2007.” The hair-cutting affair takes place from 1 to 7 p.m. May 14 at Grace Fellowship Church in Snellville. The individually packed bundles and donations will be sent to Locks of Love in Lake Worth, Fla.
Your trim won’t cost a dime. Stylists from the Taylor Brooks Salon & Spa in Alpharetta have donated their services.
Erica’s family — mom Wendy Stoner and sisters, Emma Stoner, 3, and Gracie Whitney, 7 — plan to have their hair snipped. They hope you join them.
“Doing this has been in the back of our minds since the accident,” Wendy Stoner told me.
“We’re really excited.”
Erica’s family has been given permission to use the name and logo of Locks of Love. The 10-year-old organization, which provides the $3,500 to $6,000 pieces on a sliding scale, has helped more than 2,000 children obtain the custom-fitted hair prosthetics.
“It’s a beautiful way to remember Erica,” said Pia McCarthy, the nonprofit’s volunteer coordinator.
Here’s the skinny on donating. Hair clippings must be a minimum of 10 inches. Tresses can’t be bleached or permed. Colored locks are fine. Men and women may donate. Hair that can’t be blended into a wig will be sold on the market, a standard practice of the nonprofit.
Erica’s mom hopes to keep the stylists busy, and asks that participants preregister.
“We hope to do about 28 to 40 haircuts an hour,” she said.
It’s been tough going for Wendy Stoner and the kids since Erica’s death. She praises the church, relatives and friends for being a rock to lean on.
“It’s been hard,” she said. “but we’ve done good, and May is going to be great.”
Besides the hair-cutting celebration, other events to honor Erica include: A brick dedication May 12 at Mountain Park Park, where she played sports and a Girl Scouts’ fashion show on May 5 at Mountain Park United Methodist Church.
And May 10 is Erica’s birthday. She would have turned 11.
Help children. It’s what Erica would have wanted.
For more information or to assist with “Chops For Locks,” contact Wendy Stoner at 770-978-1449 or visit www.rememberingerica.homestead.com/; www.locksoflove.org.
• Rick Badie’s column runs on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail rbadie@ajc.com.
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