Ponytail Victory Dance!

Months ago I asked you if you had hair to spare. http://calandroslihd.blogspot.com/2009/02/do-you-have-hair-to-spare.html I wanted you to cut your hair and donate the ponytail to help make wigs for cancer patients through Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program. My friend, Linda, and I created a contest to see who could collect the most ponytails hoping to inspire more people to make the cut. The final count was much smaller than we had hoped, but I still won the contest. I collected nine ponytails (plus one promised to me) and my friend, Linda, collected five.

As the winner of the contest I get to gloat and brag for the rest of my life. I also get to publicly perform a Victory Dance! This is my celebration for all the ladies who cut their hair; for all the ladies who battle cancer bravely and with dignity; and because life is to celebrate -and what better way than to dance!

Linda and I are growing our hair out again. If I can manage to keep out too much grey, I should have another ponytail to donate in about three years. Do you have hair to spare right now? Find out how to donate your ponytail here: http://www.pantene.com/en-US/beautiful_lengths.jspx

Thanks to everyone who read my posts, who cut their hair or even considered it, and for supporting me in another Calandro Crazy idea. My friends and family are some of the most supportive, generous people on the planet. Who's lucky? You guessed right -I AM!

I've Made the Cut!

In my last post I announced the latest Crazy Calandro philanthropic adventure and invited you to come along. I asked you to help me win a contest my friend and I have started to see who can get the most people to cut their hair and donate it to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program.

Well, I did it. I cut my hair last weekend, as you can tell from my "after" photo above and I'm already loving it after one week. My hairdresser cut off ten-and-a-half inches so it is definitely a new look for me! The last time my hair was so short was when I had just had Miles three years ago. I had forgotten how much less time it takes to have short hair! Less shampoo, less time combing it out, now it's just wash and go - I love it!

So now I'm asking again, do you have hair to spare? Will you cut your hair for a cause? My girlfriend, Linda, is ahead of me in our contest already - she has three ponytails and I only have two! (It helps that she has two daughters with gorgeous hair - I'm the mother of three BOYS!) Come on people! Check out the Pantene Beautiful Lengths website at http://www.beautifullengths.com/ to see a complete list of the requirements and get an address for where to mail your ponytail.

I can hear you already, "But, Eileen - I don't live in beautiful San Luis Obispo! How can I prove to you that I have cut my hair and help you get credit for my donation?"

I'm so glad you asked! Linda and I are hoping to get donations from all over the country for our contest. How to prove your donation is easy. Simply shoot me an email at eileen.hairtospare@gmail.com containing your before and after photos. In this email, please include some sort of declaration of authenticity. Here is a sample of what we have in mind:

I, (state your name), do solemnly swear, on my cut ponytail, to the sisters-of-another-mother Eileen and Linda, that I have cut my hair and have sent it to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program.

You can make up your own declaration, but this gives you an idea of what we are looking for. The most important part of this whole process is you actually sending in your ponytail!! If you are anything like me, you avoid the Post Office at all costs. (I swear I must have appeared on a wanted poster in another life!) I hate going there, but I will do it for a good cause.

Here is the address if you have made the cut and are ready to head out to the post office:

Pantene Beautiful Lengths

511 Wisconsin Drive

New Richmond, WI

54017-2613

Make sure your ponytail is dry and collected with an elastic band. Seal it in a zipper-lock bag and mail it in a padded envelope to the address above. Include your full name and return address with the ponytail.

Please keep in mind: I am not getting anything out of this. No one is paying me, this is what we Calandros do for fun. Okay, I'll admit, if I win, (WHEN I win) I am going to be ecstatic to do the victory dance and post it on YouTube and then gloat all over town about how I won this contest! Linda will have to endure much neener-neenering and ribbing from me for the rest of our lives (or at least until she beats me at another contest). But really, I'm just doing this because I wanted to see how much hair we could get donated. We're aiming for one hundred heads of hair - that's six hundred ponytails - and we can't do it without your help! Please pass this on to anyone who might be interested in helping me out. Thanks for your support!

As of now, the total count is 5 ponytails. Only 595 to go! WILL YOU MAKE THE CUT?

Do You Have Hair to Spare?

I have been growing my hair out ever since Miles was born three years ago and now it is time to cut it and donate it to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program. I have donated my hair to another organization in the past, but this time I wanted my hair to be used for a wig for cancer patients. A friend of mine has recently been going through tests and consultations to determine if a cluster of cells is, indeed, cancer. She is being incredibly strong, but beginning what could be a long struggle is, understandably, worrisome for her. My ponytail is dedicated to the hope that she won't need a wig, that she won't be positively diagnosed, that this questionable mammogram will prove to be nothing more than a short scary time as opposed to a long, gruelling journey for a cure. Other women I have known have gone down this road and arrived victorious. They lost their hair, but not their lives.

These women I know, and women I don't know, who battle for their lives are my heroes. The least I can do is grow out my hair and send it off to help a woman feel more confident and comfortable as she faces a struggle I can't begin to imagine.

If you check out our last post, this process encompasses five of our six credos. Here's how I'm going to have credo #6 (the bonus credo: create fun and adventure) be a part of this process. And I need your help. My twin-sister-from-another-mother, Linda, and I are competing against each other to see who can get the most people to cut their hair and donate it to this program. Our collective goal is to collect six hundred ponytails. This is a lofty goal, but as we say in the Calandro Family, "go big or go home"! It takes six ponytails to make one wig. These six hundred ponytails would make one hundred heads of hair. One hundred wigs.

The contest ends on our birthdays: May 7th, 2009. The winner will get to do a victory dance that will be posted on YouTube for all to see. Of course, my dance (if I win - which I plan to!) will include much neener neenering and jubilation and would be fun to watch. Who doesn't love winning a contest? We are open to suggestions of ways the winner gets to celebrate and ways the loser has to endure the title of "loser". I'm guessing there will be t-shirts involved. We Calandros are big on creating t-shirts for big occasions, just check out previous blog posts.

So there you have it. I know cutting off at least 8 inches of hair (what Pantene requires) can be a huge change for most people. It may even be a Samson and Delilah moment, but trust me, I've done it before and you will gain more strength and identity from your donation than from any length of hair cascading down your back. Spring is coming, the weather will get warmer, your hair will grow back.

All I'm asking from you today is to think about it. Spread the word. Linda and I only have two ponytails to donate. This crazy idea won't be any fun unless you JOIN IN TO HELP ME WIN. In my next post, you will see an "after" picture of me, links to the Pantene website, and more information about how you can let me know you've cut your hair. Stay tuned.

Are you with me? Please consider cutting your hair, helping a cause, and, of course, helping me win! I can't do my victory dance without you!

Onward!