On December 1, 2006, Jon Ryan’s dad, Bob, lost his battle with cancer. The Seattle Seahawks punter started looking for ways to raise awareness and money for cancer research and ultimately found Locks of Love.
Locks of Love provides free hair prosthetics to financially disadvantaged children in the US and Canada who are undergoing chemotherapy. For 25 months Ryan let his hair grow to meet the minimum requirement of 10 inches; ultimately, his hair was about 12-13 inches.
He was happy to support the cause, especially with cancer affecting his family first hand.
Locks of Love was founded in December of 1997. The initiative was led by Madonna Coffman, a retired cardiac nurse, with a lot of volunteer experience in the Palm Beach area.
When Madonna was in her twenties, she developed alopecia from a hepatitis vaccination. She lost her hair but with medication was able to recover. Years later her 4-yr old daughter developed alopecia and lost all of her hair. It was one thing to deal with her own hair loss, but seeing her daughter go through it was much more difficult. This experience inspired her to start the organization.
Currently Locks of Love is provided in all 50 states and Canada. Its hair pieces retail for between $3500 and $6000 and they are made with a vacuum seal so you do not have to worry about it coming off. According to its website:
“Children can dismiss insecurities about classmates pulling off their hairpiece, or losing it during sports. They can also swim and shower with it in place. Wigs do not provide these needs for everyday activities of active children. This sense of security allows the children to get back their self-confidence and be kids again.”
It takes six to ten ponytails to make one hair piece. Ryan was able to provide four.
“It’s going to take a little bit of getting used to,” said Ryan of his short haircut after more than two years of growing his hair out, in an interview on LeaderPost.com
“The long hair needed shampooing and conditioning and a lot of attention. I had to put it in a ponytail when I was playing because it was getting too long. Now the back of my neck almost feels naked.”
Ryan admits he took some comments from opposing team fans, “….about every insult a man with long hair can get.” But he didn’t let it bother him because he knew what he was growing it out for.
Ryan has been in the league for almost six years. He joined the Seattle Seahawks in 2008 but was with the Green Bay Packers at the time of his dad’s passing. He spent two years in Green Bay before coming to Seattle.
Ryan has 15 punts through the first two games of this season, with an average of 48.6 yards per punt, above his career average of 45. Ryan will turn 30 years old in November, and is amazed at how fast time has flown by.
Asked about his career and goals, Ryan said, “I don’t know what my next goal is – maybe 10 years. But it’s something you can never take for granted. I want to enjoy each game, and each season.”
Click here to visit the Locks of Love website.
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