TRAVERSE CITY ? Nikki Schweitzer remembers her aunt's zest for life, distinctive laugh and loving heart.
The Traverse City Central High School senior created Hair for Hope to honor Lori Stabile, who died June 3, 2011, after a four-year battle with cancer. Stabile, 43, lived in Grand Rapids with her husband, Paul, and three children.
Schweitzer and 40 other Central High students ? and counting ? will have their hair cut Thursday during school lunch hours. Volunteers from area styling salons will harvest the locks for donation to the Panteen Beautiful Lengths program, which creates wigs for women with cancer.
Her aunt, a great inspiration to Schweitzer, wore wigs during treatments.
"I am planning on donating my hair so that people like her, people with cancer raging on the inside of their bodies, can feel beautiful on the outside as well," Schweitzer said.
Schweitzer said her aunt did not let a breast cancer diagnosis in 2006 or bone and liver cancer found in 2010 get her down. Stabile kept her positive attitude even when cancer returned two years after she was medically declared in remission. She lived by the quote: "Not live like you are dying but die like you are living."
"She was a very happy person, to this day I can still hear her laugh," Schweitzer said.
Schweitzer received support from school administration to arrange Hair for Hope. She spread the word to students by talking with friends, putting up posters and making a Facebook page.
Hair for Hope dovetails with Central High School's emphasis on service learning, said Jay Larner, a school principal who worked with Schweitzer on the event.
"We want our students to look beyond themselves and give back to their community," he said "The Hair for Hope event is a great way for students to be part of a great cause."
Schweitzer, a high-energy, upbeat person who is co-president of the school's National Honor Society, exemplifies leadership at the school.
"She is striving to lead change," Larner said. "She wants to make a difference, not just at our school, but in our community and the world."
The idea of a personal makeover after Schweitzer's braces came off in December sparked Hair for Hope. After deciding to cut and donate her hair as part of the transformation, she went online to determine the exact requirements. The Panteen Beautiful Lengths website included information on creating a hair donation event.
Schweitzer, whose graduation date falls on the first anniversary of her aunt's death, decided to go for it.
"This is just a passion that grew into a program," she said.
Schweitzer's hair stylist was already booked, but contacting area salons netted Hair for Hope volunteers.
"Stylists were really very accepting ? quite excited to help," Schweitzer said.
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