Andrea “Buster” Schneider was diagnosed with Glioblastoma, an aggressive, malignant brain tumor at a very young age; however, despite her daily battles, she was always the light of anyone’s day.

“I can still remember her laugh and how she would sing along with Mariah Carey and could hit the highest of notes,” said Kate Piccard, a Grand Valley State University student, of her cousin, who passed away nearly 12 years ago at the untimely age of 12.

Now a stylist at Strands Hair Salon in Grandville, Mich., Piccard was recently approached by fellow GVSU student Emma Linne, who is also a member of Stars for Make-A-Wish, to participate in a fundraiser to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Locks of Love.

“The Make-A-Wish Foundation wanted to grant Buster a wish,” Piccard said. “After some funny ideas and thinking it through, Buster chose to get a large Sony projection television. She wanted something that she could share with her three other sisters and parents. It was just the way she was, to think about other people as well as herself. I remember thinking it was the biggest television I had ever seen.”

When Linne came to Piccard, she was more than happy to help.

“It was a very easy yes for me,” she said. “I have never forgotten (the wish granted to Buster), but I have never been able to give back or show appreciation. This was a great opportunity and I jumped at the chance to be involved.”

Piccard and two other stylists from the Grandville salon will be donating their time and their talent to the Hair-Cut-a-Thon.

Participants with long enough hair are encouraged to donate their hair to Locks of Love for a free cut, and the group is accepting donations for regular cuts.

This Hair Cut-a-thon will be taking place Monday from noon to 4 p.m. in the upstairs landing of Kirkhof. Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments can be made by email through Linne at [email protected].

Britta Cicansky, student and Stars for Make-A-Wish member, came up with the idea last semester.

“I am in Make A Wish and was thinking how Locks of Love has the same basic giving element and the same type of people in those situations,” Cicansky said. “I thought we could combine the two.”

Fellow group member Adrienne Daniel immediately signed on board with Cicansky’s idea.

“Especially when you are in college, living on campus, getting your hair cut gets forgotten during a hectic semester,” Daniel said. “It is harder for underclassmen to know where to go and get a haircut, find transportation and even just afford the cost of a haircut.”

In addition to the convenience for students, this event also adds exposure for the salon, the GVSU organization and the organizations they are donating to.

“I think it’s so amazing when people give their hair to Locks of Love and other foundations similar, many of us take our hair for granted, when someone loses their hair it is a large change, if we could make it any easier we should rise to the occasion,” Cicansky said.

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