SALT LAKE CITY — Olivia Sandoval, 6, learned the gift of giving by donating 13 inches of her beautiful long, dark brown hair to Locks of Love last April. She is excited to be in the first grade at Our Lady of Lourdes School, Salt Lake City. Kathleen Sandoval, Olivia’s mother, said Olivia wanted to have her hair cut for the first time in her life so much that she had been practicing cutting her troll doll’s hair. So Kathleen decided to turn the new experience into something positive. Olivia’s aunt died of breast cancer two years ago, and Kathleen had heard of Locks of Love. Locks of Love is a non-profit organization that provides hair pieces to financially disadvantaged children 18 years and younger suffering from long-term medical hair loss. They use donated hair to create high-quality hair prosthetics. "We went on-line so Olivia could see the children who needed hair and the wigs that are made," said Kathleen. "Olivia was very excited, and she was concerned that children her age could be so sick. We took pictures through the whole process, even of Olivia grimacing when she heard the sound of the scissors cutting through her hair. Olivia caught a lot of people by surprise by cutting her hair because it had been long all of her life. Her sister Vicky, 8, and Jake Bero, 11, did not recognize her when they saw her. It even took Olivia some time to get used to her new look. Bero is a sixth grader at Our Lady of Lourdes School and is in Olivia’s church family group. He serves as a mentor and helps Olivia in many ways. Bero said his friends are envious Olivia is in his group. Olivia is happy to have Bero as her friend.
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