LITTLE CURRENT—Manitoulin Island has many remarkable youths who step up to make a difference. Last week, The Expositor was honoured to witness an act of selfless sacrifice by a 10-year-old Little Current Public School (LCPS) student, who sat quietly in front of his peers as a hair stylist carefully snipped each of his long braids for a worthy cause—Wigs for Kids.
Asked how he came up with the idea to have his braids cut for Wigs for Kids, Matias Behm responded, “My friend’s dad is battling cancer, so I just wanted to help out.” He planned the event to raise money to help defray costs such as travel and medicines.
His fellow students gathered in the LCPS gymnasium to cheer Matias on, enthusiastically raising the rafters as each braid was handed to his mother Tasha Behm as dad proudly looked on from the back of the audience.
Hair stylist Lois Nahwegahbow of Cutting Edge in Little Current said the hair salon was the first to donate to the cause. Her years of working in high end hair salons in Toronto were put to great use making Matias’ plan come to fruition.
Following the hair cut at the school, Matias came down to the Water Street salon beside The Expositor offices for the finishing touches on his new hairstyle. Matias explained that he had been growing his hair throughout the pandemic as his last haircut was before COVID.
“I wanted to help out more people than just my friend,” he said of his donation to Wigs for Kids.
Wigs for Kids can create “hair replacement systems” (aka wigs) at no cost for children who are: 18 years of age or younger; experiencing hair loss as a result of chemotherapy, radiation therapy, alopecia, trichotillomania, burns and other medical reasons; and are referred by a medical professional.
To be eligible for a hair replacement system, children must come from families who otherwise could not afford to purchase one themselves.
Wigs for Kids is based in St. Catharines and can be contacted at info@
wigsforkids.ca. For those thinking of following in Matias’ footsteps, donation forms and more information can be found on the organization’s website, wigsforkids.ca.
Monetary donations can also be made to the organization.
