Lynzee Green, 7, has heard her mom, a registered nurse, talk about cancer patients who lose their hair. And she recalls her cousin in Ohio donating her hair when her grandmother had cancer.
So when Lynzee had her first hair cut last week - it was long enough to sit on - she donated 17 inches of her blonde locks to the Wigs for Kids program.
"She just had really long hair and always wanted to help kids," said Carlene Green, her mother.
She had her hair cut at the Jefferson City Cost Cutters, which participates in the Wigs for Kids program. The hair will be used locally, and the Greens were given a tracking number so they can see where the donation goes.
Sisters Cora, 9, and Callie Walsh, 7, also recently cut lengths of their hair for Locks of Love, another nonprofit group that provides hair pieces to financially disadvantaged children suffering from long-term medical hair loss.
Melanie Walsh, their mother, told the girls about the program previously, but Cora was initially reluctant. After her hair grew out more, she decided to go for it.
After the hair cuts, Cora saw a girl at Old Navy who didn't have any hair and wanted to go home and bring it to the girl, Melanie said.
"They have fantastic hair, so I'm glad they did it," said Melanie Walsh.