The Cerritos College Cosmetology Department took part in the Locks of Love Hair Drive on Saturday at the Norwalk Civic Center Lawn, near the city hall. Several cosmetology students volunteered to cut the hair of those who showed up to donate their strands for a good cause.

Locks of Love is a non-profit organization that strives to provide hairpieces for children who are suffering from hair loss caused by medical treatment for any long-term illness. The organization helps financially disadvantaged children living in the U.S. and Canada. Hairpieces are made with hair that has been donated and collected by volunteers.

This is the third year that the Cerritos College Cosmetology Department has taken part in the hair drive, and several students came prepared with their shears and styling tools to collect as many hair donations as possible.

Some students who were on site, cut hair to receive their extra hours for credit, as well as take part in a needy cause.

“I’ve never done this before,” said Gina Ortega, a first year cosmetology student, “We got asked if we wanted to spend our Saturday cutting hair for a good cause, so I said yes.”

Another student, Kathia Rivera, also enjoyed taking part in an event that earned her lab hours, but also supported the Locks of Love Organization.

“When they asked for volunteers at school, I volunteered,” she said, “They asked us who wanted to come out on a Saturday to help out and a lot of us raised our hands and signed up.”

The city of Norwalk contacted the Cosmetology Department Chairperson Pat Novinski to see if she could round up a few students to participate in this year’s hair drive. Novinski did not hesitate to take part in the event.

“The students who volunteer get lab hours,” she said, “but this is also a great way for us to get involved with the community and also get some scholarships for our cosmetology students.”

Novinski also had help from other cosmetology instructors like Nina Motruk and Linda Casey.

Gina Cosylion of the Norwalk Recreation and Park Services Department, organized the event and says that throughout the years, the hair drive has grown.

“The first year, we had about 10 stylists helping us cut hair,” she said, “Now we’re up to about 15 or 17 stylists. So it’s become a bigger event year after year.”

There were several guidelines for acceptable hair donations, mostly dealing with the length and health of a person’s hair. The hair must be at least 10 inches long and bleached hair was not accepted. The Locks of Love Organization does not accept dreadlocks as well.

The amount of hair collected at the hair drive is counted after the event and the total amount of hair donations won’t be final until next week.