Locks of Love Pass It Around

　

　



I know some of you are familiar with Locks of Love and there are some of you that aren’t. And the majority of you are scratching your head: how has this got anything to do with your latest book Devil’s Concubine?

Well, it has some bearing on the book. We are dealing with people who are getting scalped remember? When I did my research for a place to send hair to be made into wigs the one place that popped up on the computer screen was Locks of Love. I had heard about Locks of Love through various organizations but wasn't thoroughly up to speed on the how and what they did. Just brief information which I knew was wigs for disadvantage children. Anything more than that I was unaware of.

So with my trusty computer I went on the search to find out more about the organization. Really to see how it worked so I could base a scene in Devil’s Concubine. Moments later I was reading everything about this non profit organization and was not only learning how it operated but how it helped thousands of children. I read about their interesting organization which I informed a few of my long-haired friends, especially the ones who were thinking of cutting their hair short and they kindly donated to the cause after my research. I’m very proud of those friends.

Even though I used a fictitious name for my Locks of Love in Devil’s Concubine, it was the same basis as Locks of Love. It was a brief moment in the book that this was used, but still I wanted to share Locks of Love with you because it’s a worth-while mission.

Let me explain about Locks of Love. Locks of Love, is a public non-profit organization that provides hair pieces to financially disadvantaged children under the age of 21. This group is trying to restore a sense of self, confidence and normalcy to children who are suffering from hair loss. I know it’s hard enough for adults to swallow when they lose their hair, but for a child who is growing up around other kids it’s extremely hard.

The names these children endure can be brutal. If Locks of Love can bring this to some child that is financially disadvantaged it lifts the burdens not only on the parents who can’t afford such and can only stand by and watch the ignorance of others, but lifts the emotional burden these children have to endure.

These children are not just cancer patients, they are also children with alopecia and burn victims. As a burn victim I understand the horrors and name-calling and the low self-esteem some of these children endure and any way we can help is important.

Now I know some of you reading this are genuinely interested so I thought it would be nice for my fans to get the opportunity to learn about this organization and perhaps interest you into a donation of some sort whether it be hair or financial.

To donate your hair they do have a few guidelines and they are simple and easy to follow.

Donated hair must be ten inches or longer. Curly hair may be pulled straight to meet the requirement.

Hair may not be bleached, chemically damaged or over processed; perm or colored hair is accepted.

Hair must be in the form of a clean, dry ponytail or braid. Sorry, but I was informed dreadlocks are not accepted.

Hair that is less than ten inches or grey is separated from the donation and sold to off set manufacturing costs.

Now that you know the guidelines to donating your hair here is the website to contact them about your donation
http://locksoflove.org/mission.html

Now if you can’t donate hair, and still would like to help, they will take financial donations and that is tax deductible.

In my research I discovered many notable donors such as Gabe Carmi (Chicago Bears first-round draft pick), George Parros (National Hockey League player) and Lamb of God drummer Chris. The list goes on.

I’m sure you have heard criticism for their practice in selling donated hair. Well as mentioned above they have guide lines and some of the unusable hair like bleached, highlighted, gray and hair shorter than ten inches are sold to offset the cost of custom wigs.

Now I know some of you are scratching your head and saying, “Well, Carla, this is all nice that you are talking about Locks of Love but what about your book? How does Devil’s Concubine come into play?”

This is my answer, sometimes our detective in this case Detective Gavin Reece is thrown down the wrong road to confuse him about who is killing people. We call this in the writing world a red herring. But sometimes a worthy organization puts things back into perspective and can point us in the right direction to catch a murderer.

So the next time you have decided to cut that long hair that goes down your back, think about donating it to Locks of Love and make a child’s day.

Want to purchase the latest book? Here's a link.

http://www.amazon.com/Devils-Concubine-Carla-Landreth/dp/1621417816/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1361803843&sr=8-1&keywords=carla+landreth