Hair-Raising Tale in Fourth Grade

Greg with Christie and her soon-to-be-shorter hair

Children who will never meet him have Greg Vinson to thank in part for the wigs they received after losing their hair due to cancer treatment or medical conditions like alopecia.

When he was one year old, Greg, who works in our elementary aftercare program, was constantly pulling his mother’s hair. His mother, fourth grade teacher Christie Vinson, had a solution: she had it cut so short she could put it in a ponytail that was too short for him to grab.

When Christie was 16, her stepsister was diagnosed with leukemia. During her two years of treatment, her hair fell out. “She wasn’t self-conscious about it,” Christie remembers, “but I realized that many people would be. I’ve also met people with alopecia who struggle with hair loss.”

So it was natural that she would decide to donate the hair she had cut off. That was in 2004, and she’s been donating it ever since. After having it cut, she puts it in a ziplock bag and sends it to Locks of Love, a nonprofit that provides free custom-made hairpieces to low-income children who have lost their hair. (It takes 8 to 10 donated ponytails to make a wig.)

Christie is about due for another haircut. “I get it cut when it grows almost to my waist and starts getting caught on things as I walk by. I have it cut to just below my shoulders so it’s still long enough to put up in a bun or ponytail.” She goes two or three years between cuts and usually has 15–18 inches snipped off. She’ll probably get it cut during spring break or early in the summer.

Christie has been teaching at Meher School since 2000, mostly in fourth grade but also in preschool and in second, third, fourth, and fifth grades. Greg is 22 now. He no longer pulls his mother’s hair. He and his three brothers are all Meher School graduates. A DVC student, he’s been working here for five years.

Christie’s 2023 donation