Thru-Hiking? Here’s How You Can Donate Your Long Hair to Charity

By Andrew Miller – Metro on the Move.

Whether you are a seasoned thru-hiker, about to begin your first long-distance hike, or just love hiking in the great outdoors, please review the following as you plan for your next adventure.

Outside of selecting which gear to bring, mapping out your daily itinerary, and shipping supply boxes to local trail towns, please consider selecting a charity to promote and support as you set out on trail.

Even if you don’t have a social media channel to drive awareness or excess funds to donate, there is a way you can help others by simply donating your hair.

According to the National Cancer Institute, almost two million people in the United States are diagnosed with cancer every year. Cancer can impact a patient in so many ways including causing hair loss during treatment. Maggie’s Wigs4Kids is a non-profit organization that provides wigs and support services at no cost to children experiencing hair loss as a result of cancer treatment.

In Nov 2019, a lifelong friend was diagnosed with advanced-stage colon cancer. Within only four months, he passed away, leaving a young daughter behind. His family was able to raise some funding for his daughter, but I felt I could give more than just money. A week after his death, the pandemic was in full swing. Since my role with my company had shifted to working remotely, I decided to grow my hair out and donate it to charity.

Now that it has been almost two years, my hair was finally long enough to donate to charity. Below is a quick video of my story of why I decided to grow my hair out and how you can donate your hair to charity!

About the Author

Andrew is a seasoned hiker in the southeast and loves to create hiking videos and gear reviews on his YouTube channel Metro On The Move.

Featured image via Metro on the Move.