Coast Guard women donate locks of hair to charity

By Stephanie Lee

PORTSMOUTH

When Kerry Karwan got a haircut Wednesday, she chopped off a little more than usual. Fifteen inches, to be exact.

The Coast Guard lieutenant commander and six other women got a trim for Locks of Love, a nonprofit organization that provides hairpieces to children suffering from long-term medical hair loss. The event, which took place at the Integrated Support Command base in Portsmouth, yielded a total donation of 75 inches of hair, Karwan said.

The barbers were three Norfolk youths - Molly Smith, 5; Terron Frank, 18; and Siedah Squire, 19 - diagnosed with a condition called alopecia areata, which has no known cause or cure, said Petty Officer 2nd Class Nathan Henise.

After the children went to work with scissors, volunteers from a local Hair Cuttery styled the women's newly shortened tresses, Henise said.

Locks of Love requires each donation be at least 10 inches long. It takes six to 10 ponytails to make one custom-made hairpiece, which the organization donates to a financially disadvantaged child, spokeswoman Lauren Kukkamaa said.

Karwan, who organized the event, said she began growing out her light brown hair three years ago.

Its length was never inconvenient, she said, since military rules require her to pin it up every day.

In December, Karwan gathered a group of civilian and active-duty Coast Guard members who also wanted to take up the challenge. Since then, the women have been encouraging each other and raising awareness of the cause on the base, she said.

"It's definitely been shorter," Karwan said of her new hairdo. "It's not a big thing if I don't have any myself."

Stephanie Lee, (757) 446-2628, stephanie.lee@pilotonline.com