Elexis unlocks heart for Locks of Love donation
A perky, precocious eight-year-old, Elexis Weintraut seems smart, quick witted and perhaps a little prone to the dramatic.
She'll smile and tell you her name is most certainly E-lexis with an E, not A-lexis with an A. Or she might correct her mother mid-sentence about certain facts in the story. Or brazenly converse with a gaggle of adults gathered to enjoy her latest adventure.
So it should not be surprising that Elexis' exploits might be a little attention-grabbing. And Wednesday she was center stage at the Styling Station in Greencastle, again doing something to benefit others.
This time it was getting 10 inches of her brown hair trimmed off by stylist Shelbi McKinney -- all in the name of Locks of Love, a non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to disadvantaged children suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis.
"We like to call her 'Little Mother Hen,'" mother Lida Oliver of Russellville smiled. "She likes to do things for others."
In this case, the 10 inches of her hair being chopped off will not only give Elexis a brand new hairstyle but will be made into a wig for another youngster in need.
"She wanted to donate her hair to a little girl who had cancer," her mother explained, adding that Elexis recently had heard a story read to the third-grade class at Roachdale Elementary.
"It was an online video," Elexis corrected. "She was talking about her mom and how she didn't have any hair."
As McKinney measured the 10 inches to be trimmed off -- minimum length for such a donation -- Styling Station owner GeneAnn Judy announced that the haircut would be free of charge and that McKinney, her newest stylist, had come in specifically for the occasion.
Locks of Love donations pop up at her shop a couple times of year, Judy said, but his one was "pretty special" since it was initiated by an eight-year-old.
"I'm glad that a young child in this community wants to reach out," mother Lida Oliver responded.
Hair now trimmed and styled accordingly, Elexis looked in the mirror the stylist held up as her eyes grew wide.
"Papaw is going to be like, 'What did you do to your hair?'" she gushed.
That answer's easy: She gave it away.