by Moira Cullings
moira.cullings@theleaven.org
OVERLAND PARK — A beloved tradition at St. Thomas Aquinas High School here made a powerful comeback on March 11 following a five-year hiatus.
“As most of our student body has never experienced this assembly, I am hopeful — especially during this Lenten season — that they realize what a great gift is being given to people who are suffering,” said Kim Spillman, performing arts head at Aquinas.
During the Wigs Out assembly, 53 students, faculty and individuals from the wider community cut their hair to donate to Hair We Share and Wigs for Kids.
Aquinas also raised $7,000 to ensure that the wigs that will be created can be given to those in need at no cost.
“I loved the support and the involvement between everyone here,” said Jayne Moodie, a freshman who donated her hair with her mom Nicole.
“My uncle had leukemia,” she said, “and I remember him going through the process and how it affected my cousins.”
Nicole was grateful for the opportunity to give back alongside her daughter.
“I’m an alum, and we didn’t have this when I was here,” she said. “I’ve known so many people that have been affected by cancer, so I was excited to be able to do it with her.”
Back to the beginning
The first Wigs Out assembly took place in 2008 after Spillman visited her nephew, who was battling Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and decided to donate her hair in his honor.
After asking some students if they’d be interested in donating their hair, the response was enthusiastic, and 60 girls donated that first year.
Wigs Out continued to take place annually, with upwards of 150 donations at a time, until COVID-19 radically altered the experience in 2020.
“We had brave donors cut their hair in kitchens, on their back patios and in driveways,” said Spillman. “It wasn’t glamorous, but it worked.”
With the future so uncertain, “I decided maybe it was a sign to let Wigs Out come to an end,” said Spillman.
But in recent years, people began asking her why Wigs Out had stopped, and it ultimately inspired her to bring it back.
Aquinas plans to host another assembly next spring, then move to a bi-yearly schedule.
Close to home
Chris Teddy, class of 1999, was the master of ceremonies for this year’s assembly.
“Today, we celebrate a tradition that’s carried so many people through their darkest days,” said Teddy.
He shared that when he was growing up, his mom battled breast cancer for more than 15 years.
“During those years, Aquinas’ community was our crutch,” he said. “My family leaned on you when we needed it most.”
Then in 2022, Teddy was diagnosed with cancer.
“I’m doing great — only because of the community that’s in front of me now,” he said. “Once again, this community was there for me and my family.”
Meg Ramaekers, class of 2019 and a five-year cancer survivor, shared how she was diagnosed with stage three Hodgkin’s lymphoma at the age of 20.
“When I donated my hair in the 2016 Wigs Out ceremony,” she said, “I had absolutely no idea how impactful hair donation would later become in my own life.
“I had no idea five years later, I would need a wig because I had no hair of my own.”
Ramaekers emphasized how important the sacrifice of hair donation is.
“Today, when you walk out of the gym with shorter hair, I hope you remember that what you gave up will mean the world to someone else,” she said.
“Your hair will become confidence for someone who no longer recognizes themselves in the mirror,” she continued. “It will become comfort for somebody walking into another round of chemotherapy.
“And it will become hope for someone who’s facing one of the hardest moments of their life. I know this because I was once that person.”
A teacher’s battle
Al Miner, director of technology at Aquinas, was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma and has gone through multiple rounds of treatment as the cancer has gone into remission, come back and metastasized.
He shared during Wigs Out that he began new treatments last year and was told that if they didn’t work, he had about eight months left to live.
“Through all this, of course, I have been praying,” said Miner. “And other people have been praying for me — especially in this community.
“It’s been an outpouring of love and faith like I never could have expected.”
The new treatments, he said, seem to be working.
“There are benefits to working among the saints,” said Miner, “and prayer is high on the list. Prayer is what I needed. I needed a miracle.
“And God seems to have listened.”
Miner encouraged the Aquinas community to continue praying.
“When you pray, thank God for these ladies,” he said. “Thank God for the people you love who are fighting illnesses. Thank God for being alive during this time of medical miracles.
“Pray for those who need healing and that they can be healed. Pray for those who can’t be healed here on earth and that they might enjoy eternal, perfect health in heaven with Jesus Christ, our Lord.”
To view videos and more photos from Wigs Out, visit us on Facebook or Instagram.
