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Hair today, gone tomorrow

South Surrey student Jenna Samson donated her long locks of hair to support those fighting cancer.
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Jenna Samson

It’s safe to say that efforts of a 12-year-old South Surrey girl to help fight cancer are a cut above.

The gift Jenna Samson gave – of her own hair – was on her mind for two years, but much longer in the making.

“I’ve been growing my hair since I was a little girl and I never really cut it, like, short,” Jenna told Peace Arch News.

The idea to make the cut worthwhile – the hair will be used in a wig for a cancer patient – arose while talking to her mom about a fellow Bayridge Elementary student who was fighting cancer.

“(The girl, in Grade 6) just came to school and you kind of can tell that she has cancer,” Jenna said.

“So I was talking to my mom and she said, ‘Oh, why don’t you donate your hair?’

“Since my hair was long enough, I donated 13 inches, and so I thought that was really cool to do. If I was going to cut it short, I was going to donate to cancer and not just, like, waste it.”

Jenna had the cut done at Chatters in Grandview Corners last month, and the resulting ponytails were sent to the Canadian Cancer Society.

Her mom, Helen, attributes Jenna’s giving spirit to her years in the Girl Guides program.

“Guiding teaches the girls to think of others, to be giving, and ‘to take action for a better world,’” said Helen, who is involved in public relations for the Peninsula District Guides.

Jenna agreed her involvement in Girl Guides played a role in the decision. She has been in the program for six years, and is currently a Pathfinder.

“Girl Guides (is) really trying to convince you to do nice things and think of other people before you,” she said. “So it’s a nice thing to do and that’s putting people before me.”

 



Tracy Holmes

About the Author: Tracy Holmes

Tracy Holmes has been a reporter with Peace Arch News since 1997.
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