KIDS THESE DAYS:

Any parent or teacher will tell you you have to be very careful about what you say around kids. The situation is so bad that for years, teachers have had an unwritten rule about kids acting like magpies. They say to parents, “I’ll believe half of what your kid says about you if you believe half of what they say about me.”

But in the case of Sterling Gates, a student at Adams Elementary School in Costa Mesa, he is to be commended for accurately repeating what his fifth-grade teacher, Alison Walske, said. And Sterling’s mother, Karla, is to be commended for believing 100% of what her son told her.

Thanks to their good communication, at least 20 financially disadvantaged children who are suffering from long-term medical hair loss will get hairpieces made of human hair as part of a Locks of Love hair cutting event Monday.

The story at Adams would not have developed had Karla worked in any other profession. Karla, you see, is a hair stylist.

“I believe [Alison] was growing her hair to donate and she told some of the kids and it kind of snowballed from there,” Karla said. “She knew I did hair and asked me if I wanted to do it. Then we realized there were so many kids who wanted to donate and I asked someone else from work to help out.”

In this case, “work” is Salon L in Newport Beach.

At Adams, the haircutting bug is so bad, it was even caught by a member of the office staff. Susan Lambaren will shed 10 inches of her hair Monday.

“I have a week to go,” said Lambaren, who seemed to look forward to the prospect of helping a child’s self-image.

Locks of Love was founded in 1997. It grew thanks to the efforts of Madonna Coffman, a retired cardiac nurse who had a great deal of volunteer experience working for not-for-profits in the surrounding Palm Beach area.

Coffman lost her hair in her 20s and her daughter lost hers at age 4.

Since Coffman began promoting Locks of Love, more than 2,000 children have been helped. Locks of Love has recipients in all 50 states and Canada.

I could write all day about what a wonderful organization this is, but in this case a picture is worth a thousand words. I invite you to visit the Locks of Love website ( www.locksoflove.org) to look at the before and after images of the kids who have benefited. Much of the donated hair arrives from grass-roots events such as the Adams haircutting.

A couple of years ago, our daughter donated more than 10 inches of her red hair to Locks of Love. The wonderful part about donating hair is that it grows back.

There are a lot of kids throughout the country who could use hair. If you are interested in donating your hair, the event is 1 to 3 p.m. Monday at Adams Elementary School, 2850 Clubhouse Road, Costa Mesa. The school phone number is (714) 424-3935.

I know this is not exactly the best time to get over to the school to donate your hair, but this is a trip worth taking. So take a long lunch or skip lunch and head over to Adams.

And if anyone asks you what you are doing or why, show them the smiling faces at www.locksoflove.org.

The spirit of the day is captured by Morgan Miller, an Adams student who told me this when I asked her why she wanted to donate her hair: “I feel bad for people who have alopecia [a disease resulting in hair loss] or cancer treatment who don’t have hair and I want them to have mine.”

IF YOU GO

WHO: Locks of Love

WHAT: Haircutting event

WHEN: 1 to 3 p.m. Monday

WHERE: Adams Elementary School, 2850 Clubhouse Road, Costa Mesa

INFO: (714) 424-3935.

STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer. Send story ideas to [email protected].