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DEL.ICIO.USIn sharing their locks, children discover lots of love
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
After Katie Norton donated her ponytail to charity, she tried to get two other Girl Scouts to do likewise.
“Do it, please?” she begged Megan, her 12-year-old sister, and Phoebe Pearson, Megan’s 13-year-old friend.
Megan and Phoebe had not planned on getting their locks trimmed at Monday’s hair-cutting event to remember a 10-year-old girl who had a big heart. But 100 or so other people attended the event for that very purpose.
Their hair was tied in a ponytail, measured to a 6- or 10-inch length, and snipped. The ponytail went into a bag. Then, stylists from the Taylor Brooks Salon and Spa in Alpharetta worked their magic on the hair left intact.
On Monday, dozens turned out for “Chops for Locks — Remembering Erica 2007,” a six-hour event held at Grace Fellowship Church in Snellville.
Last summer, Erica Paige Whitney of Lilburn was killed in a car crash just south of Augusta. The rising fifth-grader at Mountain Park Elementary was returning home from Myrtle Beach, S.C., with her family.
Erica had a favorite charity: Locks of Love, a Florida-based nonprofit that provides hairpieces and wigs to kids who lose their hair because of medical conditions such as cancer. She had donated her own hair once and had plans to do so again.
So the family hosted Monday’s hair-cutting affair to honor Erica and to benefit the nonprofit. Wendy Stoner, Erica’s mom, and Erica’s siblings, Emma Stoner, 3, and Gracie Whitney, 7, were the first customers at this inaugural event.
“When school lets out, it’s going to be crazy,” Stoner predicted early Monday. “Lots of kids.”
When it comes to hair, Erica’s father, Rodney Whitney, is as slick as an onion. He kept busy stocking snacks and beverages made available for the donors.
“It’s rough,” Whitney told me. “My way of dealing with it is to think of all the great memories, the 10 great years we had together, all the great things we did. She taught me things. I taught her things. She made me a better person.”
Erica would have turned 11 last Thursday. The family held a celebration by her graveside at Floral Hills Memorial Gardens off Lawrenceville Highway. They shared a cookie cake.
Dad and the girls sang a line from a skit they saw on “That’s So Raven,” a Disney show.
“Do you like your turkey fried?”
It’s a line they often sang with Erica. She liked putting on a show, playing recreational sports and participating in the Girl Scouts. A flier was circulated within the Girl Scouts’ family to let scouts like Katie Norton know about Monday’s event.
Katie’s hair grows about an inch a month, so she’ll be able to donate again about this time next year. She probably will.
“If I had cancer, I would want a wig,” she told me.
Before I left the church, Katie’s sister, Megan, and her friend, Phoebe, approached Katie.
“We talked about it,” Megan announced. “We’re going to do it.”
And they did.
Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail: rbadie@ajc.com.
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By Wendy Stoner
May 15, 2007 9:04 AM | Link to this
Thank you so much, Mr. Badie, for telling Gwinnett readers all about my beautiful girl and her amazing heart. Your caring articles really contributed to out event yesterday, many of the hair donors came out because they had read your articles about my sweet Erica. I also want to thank all those who came out and donated their hair, money and time to our event. We could not have done it without the 13 stylists from Taylor Brooks Salon, who cut hair non-stop from 1pm to 7pm yesterday and thank you so much to my church, Grace Fellowship for providing us with the perfect spot for the event. I am more than excited to announce that we collected 102 ponytails of hair equaling 965 inches along with $1830.00 to send to Locks of Love!
By Francesco Sinibaldi
May 15, 2007 12:57 PM | Link to this
Summers day song.
When the sound of a tracing fawn lives in the sun forgetting a warbling, a brittle breath lays in a smile; someone’s sleeping in slender refrains, and a far beckon remembers silently reasons of care. And everywhere it will be over….
Francesco Sinibaldi
By Teresa Rutledge
May 15, 2007 2:29 PM | Link to this
Dear Mr. Badie, Erica was my great-niece. Yesterday’s event was bittersweet for our family. My sister, Erica’s grandmother, had tears in her eyes many times throughout the day. Her tears reflected what we all felt; pride and gratitude that Erica’s event was such a success, and sorrow that Erica was not there with us. Thank you for sharing that with us, and a heartfelt thanks to all who participated.
By Jordan
May 24, 2007 8:39 AM | Link to this
I was a great friend of Erica’s and got my hair cut on the 14th along with some of my other friends. It was a great experince just to go and remember Erica.
By Jordan
May 24, 2007 8:40 AM | Link to this
I was a great friend of Erica’s and got my hair cut on the 14th along with some of my other friends. It was a great experince just to go and remember Erica.