Senior Natalie Reyna raised 1,500 dollars in the hopes of bringing holiday joy to a less fortunate family by shaving her head in front of the entire student body the Friday before winter break.
“I don’t have a lot of money to give but I have so much more to give like my hair,” Reyna said.
Reyna, having been one of the families that know what a difference a helping hand could make, showed courage in order to give her peers an incentive to unite as a family and give back to the community.
Mrs. Skidmore, Reyna’s 11th grade child development teacher, had been adopting families during the holidays for four years and although last year participating students proved their generosity, this year was not measuring up. Reyna saw this as an opportunity to give back the only way she knew she could.
“When you hear the word donate, it’s not about just money. There are so many other ways you can give back to the community,” Reyna said.
On the day Reyna was set to shave her head, she went in feeling confident as they gave the first cut, and although she admits to a bit of stage fright, she went through with it. Reyna was assured that hair was but a luxury; it grew back, but cutting it, in order to raise money to help a Downey family in need was of much more importance.
“She had a lot of guts to shave her head, because I know I wouldn’t have ever done that, but I’m glad she did it because it was for a good cause. We need more people like her that are willing to go above and beyond to give back to their community,” sophomore Giovanna Dan said.
Having shaved her head, Reyna intends to donate 11 inches of her hair to Locks of Love. With the help and support of her mom and the people who donated she was able to raise 1,500 dollars and brightened up the holidays for a special family.
“At first I was cool with her cutting off her hair but then I was like oh no, but in the end I felt proud of her because she did it for a good cause,” girlfriend Stephanie Villa said.
It took immense courage, heart, and bravery for Reyna to take a stand but this demonstrated that Downey High is full of amazing people that care about their community and will go to amazing lengths to give back.