Olivia Kierce Knows the Power of a Ponytail

Olivia Kierce is 7 years old, and a second grader at St. Raphael's Parish School. She loves science, dancing, skiing, and singing. And she's just a couple of months away from a pretty important hair cut.

Last summer, Olivia overheard her parents talking about St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital and the sick children there. She decided to find a way to help sick kids, and began investigating Locks of Love. Locks of Love collects hair to make  hairpieces for financially disadvantaged children who have lost suffered medical hair loss. "Once she saw the pictures of how kids just like her had donated their hair and how happy it made the recipients, she was on board," say her parents Michelle and Patrick Kierce.

Olivia discovered it would take 4-6 ponytails of 10 inches or longer to make a single hairpiece, so she decided to form a team. With the help of St. Raphael's school administrators, Olivia's team now has 14 students. That's 140 inches of hair, or enough for 3 hairpieces! The St. Ray's team has been growing its hair all year, and will have a cut-a-thon in June.

Her parents say, "Olivia's key to awesomeness is definitely her creativity. She tries to think out of the box in every thing she does from school work to play time. This is why she is so excited to be helping by donating hair." Olivia's sacrifice will not only help sick kids, but serve as an inspiration to others.