Olson makes fifth donation to Locks of Love

     It’s not that unusual for someone to donate 10 inches or so of hair for a good cause, such as Locks of Love. What is unusual is for someone to make the donation five times, donating over 50 inches of hair, and only be a freshman in high school.

     Caroline Olson of Hopkinton made her first Locks of Love donation in the spring of 2009 when she was in first grade. Since then, she’s donated in December of 2011, the spring of 2013, December of 2015, and most recently in October of 2017.

     Four of those times, Olson donated 10 or more inches to Locks of Love to be used for wigs for cancer patients. In 2015, she donated her hair toward Pantene Beautiful Lengths.

     “I wanted to try a different organization to reach more people,” Olson said. “I just want to make others happier.” She said she’s never informed about where or to whom her hair donations go.

     Aside from wanting to help those with cancer, Olson also donates for those dealing with alopecia, or hair loss.

     “I’ve had it before,” she admitted.                  

     When Olson was in sixth grade, she dealt with alopecia herself. While she no longer loses her hair and is grateful she’s able to grow it so much to donate to others, Olson said it was hard at the time.

     “My mom would position my ponytail to try to hide it,” she said.

     Olson commented that it’s a nice turn-around that someone with alopecia has now been able to donate back.

     Since day one, Olson has gone to Julie Miller with Country Curls & Cuts in rural Monticello for her hair care needs. Miller was the one who assisted Olson with her hair donations over the years, and has never heard of someone so young donating so many times.

     “My mom and I did our research on the best ways to donate,” Olson said of the causes she chose.

     Of calculating just how much hair she has donated over the years, Olson said she never looked at it as 50-plus inches.

     “That’s a lot,” she laughed.

     Aside from her personal bout with alopecia, Olson’s maternal grandfather was diagnosed with cancer around the time she made her first hair donation.

     “I donate because of him and to help others,” she said.

     Olson’s mom, Michele, has also donated hair over the years as well.

     “It makes me happy knowing I’m actually helping others, people I don’t know with cancer,” Olson said. “That people are out there willing to give up their hair for others.”

     Olson said it typically takes a couple years for her fair to grow enough that she’s willing to cut it.

     “This year it was down to my elbows and I was ready for it to be cut,” she said. She said as long as it had gotten, it took some time to get ready every morning.

     “It was super thick and super long,” she said. “It took a half hour just to curl it.”

     Olson anticipates making her next donation during her junior year of high school.

     “I don’t know very many people who have donated this many times,” she said. “It’s better to help others like this when you have the chance.”

     Olson, 14, is the daughter of Troy and Michele Olson.