Learn more   ● Find more information about Locks of Love online at www.locksoflove.org

A Christmas wish came true for 7-year-old Apolonia Bustamante on Thursday when 12 inches of her waist-length hair was cut and donated to make a wig for a cancer patient. The Douglas girl wrote in her letter to Santa Claus that she wanted to donate her hair for Christmas, so her mother contacted Loews Ventana Canyon Resort and made an appointment for Thursday. The resort is one of several Tucson salons that work with Locks of Love, a nonprofit group that takes donated hair and makes wigs for children with medically related hair loss. "It felt good," Apolonia said. "I'm very glad of it and I hope that they like it and treat it with respect." Apolonia said she'd like to donate her hair again next year. "If my hair grows back, probably I'll have to." The haircut itself made the day better, she said. "It's awesome. We don't have to deal with any more tangles." The gesture inspired her mother and 5-year-old sister Alejandrina, who decided to donate their hair after watching Apolonia's haircut. In February Apolonia saw a little girl who was donating her hair and asked her mother, Elena, about it. "When I told her, she said, 'I want to do the same thing.' I didn't pay too much attention to it then," she said. "But when I read the letter, I said this little girl means business. "She feels very happy and of course I feel very proud," she said. Apolonia's letter to Santa asked for a play set and boots to go hiking in, but in the last paragraph the girl wrote she wanted to give her hair for somebody with cancer. Loews Ventana Canyon Resort offers free cuts for Locks of Love donors every Wednesday and averages about 35 donations a month, said lead stylist Molly Dudley. "It's nice to see there are generous little girls," she said. "This is the first time we've ever had somebody who's asked for this to be their Christmas wish through Santa." It takes about four 10-inch haircuts to make one wig. "It's nice to see people with pure hearts that come in and want to do something for other people," Dudley said. Sarah Beal, a resort spokeswoman, said more younger children have been donating their hair recently. "It's so surprising and so touching," she said. "Some of the comments she had were really sweet." Learn more

 

● Find more information about Locks of Love online at www.locksoflove.org