Contribute to Change: Hair Donations

I enjoy wearing my hair long, but sometimes, I get tired of it. It’s the reason I decided to donate 8 inches to charity a few years ago. Unfortunately, since then, I’ve heard quite a few negative things about hair donations. Some claim the organizations sell the wigs to kids, instead of giving them away. Others say salons are likely to throw the hair away and not even bother donating it. So, with my hair at what I deemed ‘donation length’ again, I decided to do some research before making the cut.

Here are my findings and suggestions in regards to Locks of Love and Beautiful Lengths:

Locks of Love provides free hairpieces to children under 21 who suffer from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. The organization notes most of the children they help have lost their hair due to alopecia areata. It also notes hair that is unusable in creating hairpieces is sold to offset manufacturing costs. The Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance says Locks of Love meets the 20 Standards for Charity Accountability.

Locks of Love Criteria: 

• Minimum of 10 inches
• No dreadlocks
• No bleaches
• No gray hair

Pantene Beautiful Lengths partners with the American Cancer Society to make and distribute wigs to women with cancer for free. The organization says wigs go to the national American Cancer Society Wig Bank. To find out if you’re eligible to receive a free wig you can call 1.877.227.1596. The Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance did not have this program listed on their website.

Beautiful Lengths Criteria: 

• Minimum of 8 inches
• No dyes, bleaches or chemicals
• No more than 5% gray

In my opinion, both organizations are sound because they work to make those who are sick feel a little better in their fight. I went to a salon that donated the hair for me and now I’m sporting a long bob.

If you can’t donate your hair, you can send monetary donations to Locks of Love or Beautiful Lengths.

Sources:

http://pantene.com/en-us/experience-main-section2/beautiful-lengths

http://www.locksoflove.org/

http://www.give.org/charity-reviews/national/children-and-youth/locks-of-love-in-west-palm-beach-fl-1839

http://www.businessinsider.com/donating-hair-to-charity-what-you-need-to-know-2016-12

Contribute to Change: Malaria

Nearly half of the world’s population is at risk of contracting malaria. The disease, transmitted to humans through female mosquito bites, claims hundreds of thousands of lives each year. In fact, in 2015, there were 429,000 deaths worldwide. While the work of the World Health Organization and charities like Against Malaria Foundation have helped reduce malaria mortality rates by roughly two-thirds in the last 15 years, the funding for eradicating this disease has flat-lined. In 2015, global malaria financing totaled $2.9 billion. WHO says to achieve global targets, contributions must increase to $6.4B annually by 2020.  This is where donations from the public can make a difference, because malaria really isn’t that expensive to prevent.

There are currently two main vector controls used in malaria prevention; insecticide-treated mosquito nets or indoor residual spraying. The Against Malaria Foundation is a non-profit that uses public donations to buy the nets. They work with distribution partners to distribute nets and ensure use. They also conduct net use surveys and track monthly malaria data. Givewell.org estimates the cost to purchase and distribute an AMF-funded net is between $4 and $6. Since an estimated 43% of the population in sub-Saharan Africa was not protected by treated nets or by insecticides sprayed indoors in 2015, you can see how donating just $5, can help the WHO reach its goal to control and eliminate the disease in the next 15 years.

Once you learn about the prevention methods, it may seem unusual the disease hasn’t already been eradicated. Unfortunately, malaria occurs most often in poor, tropical and subtropical areas of the world. With many unable to afford treatment, the disease then runs rampant among the most vulnerable groups within these populations. The Centers for Disease Control says the most vulnerable groups are pregnant women whose immunity is decreased by pregnancy and young children who have not yet developed partial immunity to malaria. According to WHO, malaria takes the life of a child every 2 minutes. Fortunately, there is a new effort to eliminate malaria, a vaccine, which will be rolled out in three countries in sub-Saharan Africa in 2018. If all goes well, WHO will decide whether to deploy the vaccine on a wide scale. A further step by WHO to reduce malaria mortality rates by at least 90% by 2030.

If you would like to donate to the Against Malaria Foundation to provide nets and help the World Health Organization reach the above goal click this link: https://www.againstmalaria.com/donate.aspx

Sources:

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2016/funding-malaria-vaccine/en/

http://www.latimes.com/world/global-development/la-fg-global-malaria-snap-2016-story.html

https://www.cdc.gov/malaria/malaria_worldwide/impact.html

http://www.givewell.org/charities/against-malaria-foundation

My Resolution

This year, I decided to start what I’m calling ‘Contribute to Change.’ Bi-weekly(ish) I will choose a cause and research it. Then, I’ll post my findings including which charity best supports the cause in hopes of generating support. I’ll also be donating my own money to each cause. Feel free to give me suggestions.