Students, parents donate ponytails to make wigs for cancer patients

WOODLAND HILLS, Calif. (KABC) -- Elementary school students and parents at a charter elementary school in Woodland Hills donated their hair Friday to help cancer patients.

Five parents and 30 students at Serrania Charter Elementary School put their ponytails on the chopping block for a good cause.

It is all part of the cut-a-thon to donate hair to those with cancer.

"I wanted to do it because I want to help people with cancer and I want to cut my hair," third grader Chanel Gershon said.

This is the third year the school had hosted a cut-a-thon, and it was all organized by a student's mother, Yvette Peterson, who is a two-time cancer survivor.

"It's much less about hair and it's really about showing people with cancer how much people care about them, people they don't even know," Peterson said.

As a way to show the girls their support, the boys wore pink beanies that said "Pony-up." One student, Kanye Buchanan, even wanted to donate his hair to help out, but it was too short.

The hair was donated to Panteen and will be made into wigs. It's a small sacrifice these girls did to make a big difference in someone else's life.