Kaitlyn Hawkins stands a little over 3 feet tall and weighs just ounces shy of 45 pounds, but it’s common knowledge the 5-year-old kindergartner has a heart as big as anybody’s.
Last Wednesday evening, without any prodding from her mom and dad, Kaitlyn sat perfectly still as hairstylist Kersten Vaughn cut off about 12 inches of Kaitlyn’s hair to be donated to the Locks of Love Foundation that supplies hairpieces for children. who lose their hair because of diseases or their treatment.
Kaitlyn, almost from the time she first started talking, maintained that she would never cut her hair, said her father, Stevie Hawkins.
“The most we would be able to get her to do is get a trim every now and then,” he said.
All that changed during a fall festival at big sister Haleigh’s school last year.
According to her mother, Rhonda Hawkins, Kaitlyn might have gotten the idea to donate her hair as she watched people shearing their locks at the festival for donation to the foundation.
In August, Kaitlyn asked her mom if only big people could donate their hair.
“I told her no, that anyone can donate their hair,” Rhonda Hawkins said.
With her mind made up, Kaitlyn decided to shed her locks to help an unfortunate child. When asked why she was doing it and if she had any help in deciding, she simply smiled and giggled.
“No,” she said. “I thought of it myself. It’s something I want to do.”
The South Main Salon undertook the haircut for the girl after business hours. Family members and even a neighbor came out to witness the event.
Sitting quietly in the stylist chair, Kaitlyn endured several minutes of priming by Vaughn to get the right amount of hair in hand. Once the hair was measured, Vaughn took a pair of scissors and, within a few seconds, cut the locks that took Kaitlyn five years to grow.
In about 20 minutes, the youngster who entered the salon with long, flowing hair had a new look, and a newly found understanding of what it is to help someone less fortunate.
Last Wednesday evening, without any prodding from her mom and dad, Kaitlyn sat perfectly still as hairstylist Kersten Vaughn cut off about 12 inches of Kaitlyn’s hair to be donated to the Locks of Love Foundation that supplies hairpieces for children. who lose their hair because of diseases or their treatment.
Kaitlyn, almost from the time she first started talking, maintained that she would never cut her hair, said her father, Stevie Hawkins.
“The most we would be able to get her to do is get a trim every now and then,” he said.
All that changed during a fall festival at big sister Haleigh’s school last year.
According to her mother, Rhonda Hawkins, Kaitlyn might have gotten the idea to donate her hair as she watched people shearing their locks at the festival for donation to the foundation.
In August, Kaitlyn asked her mom if only big people could donate their hair.
“I told her no, that anyone can donate their hair,” Rhonda Hawkins said.
With her mind made up, Kaitlyn decided to shed her locks to help an unfortunate child. When asked why she was doing it and if she had any help in deciding, she simply smiled and giggled.
“No,” she said. “I thought of it myself. It’s something I want to do.”
The South Main Salon undertook the haircut for the girl after business hours. Family members and even a neighbor came out to witness the event.
Sitting quietly in the stylist chair, Kaitlyn endured several minutes of priming by Vaughn to get the right amount of hair in hand. Once the hair was measured, Vaughn took a pair of scissors and, within a few seconds, cut the locks that took Kaitlyn five years to grow.
In about 20 minutes, the youngster who entered the salon with long, flowing hair had a new look, and a newly found understanding of what it is to help someone less fortunate.