Locks of hair were cut and collected Friday afternoon at North Star Elementary School.

Five adults and a second-grader received haircuts to send to Locks of Love in honor of Madisyn Sickafoose, a 6-year-old student of North Star who was diagnosed with a rare cancer in October. Locks of Love collects hair to be made into wigs for financially disadvantaged children undergoing medical procedures.

To help Sickafoose the school also is accepting donations of money. To motivate school children principal Janel Keplinger made a promise that the classroom that raises the most money from the shorn locks can cut her hair, too. Her hair is too short to donate to Locks of Love.

“My hair is too short to do Locks of Love, so that’s why I went ahead and said the kids could cut my hair so we could promote a little bit of a fundraiser,” Keplinger said. “We’ve called it Money for Madisyn. I encouraged the kids by saying the class that raised the most money got to cut my hair. From there on, several other staff members wanted to do Locks of Love.”

Donation jars are placed in classrooms and around town. Keplinger thought it would be nice to help support Sickafoose.

“She just recently lost all of her hair and her mom shaved her head,” Keplinger said. “So there were several of us who felt like we wanted to send her a message that we were supporting her as much as we could.”

One supporter is Vivy Wages, a second-grader at North Star. Wage’s hair will be sent to Locks of Love. While receiving her new haircut she recalled Sickafoose’s “straight, shiny, brown hair.” She said she wanted to donate her hair “because Madisyn doesn’t have any hair anymore.”

While raising money, an effort also is under way to teach the children about Sickafoose’s health condition and there is a plan to make a book for her.

“We’re going to create a book with before and after photos of the haircuts to send to Madisyn,” Keplinger said. “In the book we’ll talk about how being different is OK and it doesn’t change who you are on the inside.”

While going through the fundraising process the teachers and staff saw how so many children had been affected by cancer.

“Their mother, or their sister or somebody in their life had been affected, and so we’re going to have a dedication page in the back (of the book),” Keplinger said. “Even if they didn’t cut their hair, they can still honor somebody who survived cancer or somebody that they lost because of cancer.”

The teachers and staff at North Star have tried to make sure the students understand and appreciate Sickafoose’s situation.

“It has brought an awareness to the kids that you can do things for other people and it’s a simple act that makes the difference,” Keplinger said. “There’s been some great discussions about being different, and that it doesn’t change who you are inside. The kids have been really good at being accepting and understanding.”

Donations for Sickafoose will be collected throughout the year, and anyone wanting to help can send a check to the school’s office or stop by.

Mirror writer Louis Garcia can be reached via e-mail at lgarcia@kodiakdailymirror.com.