Iowa City , Iowa- Grant Gillon and other dedicated volunteers shave their heads "For the Kids" at Dance Marathon on February 4 at the IMU. (The Daily Iowan/ Melissa Wilson)
Junior Katelyn Shany said she’s cutting her hair so others don’t have to face what she did.
Shany participated in the annual Locks for Love event at the Big Event. Though Shany said goodbye to eight inches of hair Saturday morning, this isn’t the first time she has cut her hair for the fight against cancer.
Previously, she cut her hair so her sister-in-law could use it for a wig.
“She never ended up needing it,” Shany said, her sister-in-law later died of cancer. “But everyone who loses their hair deserves to have at least some nice-looking hair.”
Now, Shany participates in Dance Marathon for others currently facing similar situations.
“I just want to raise money so parents don’t have to go through what we went through,” she said.
The stage was also filled with males who wanted to shave their heads for a similar cause titled, “No Hair Don’t Care.”
Senior Jack Edwards said he shaved his head to help the children who could possibly have no hair.
“Well, I usually go for a light hair cut and so I was just in the mood to get one,” Edwards said jokingly. “But also, just for the kids, you know. They have to deal with no hair so the least I can do is take some off and be with them through it all.”
This is the first year the UI senior has participated in Dance Marathon, but he said he has enjoyed every minute of the experience.
“I’m a senior. I am going to graduate,” Edwards said. “Every person I have talked to has said Dance Marathon was one of the best times of their lives and I knew I had to do it before I left the University of Iowa.”
And while sophomore dancer Kaitlin Poettcher said she wouldn’t be able to cut her hair, she said the idea of donating hair is a great cause and a great thing for the children.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Poettcher said. “It really takes guts.”
— By Kristen East and Jordyn Reiland
