Since the COVID pandemic hit Israel in early 2020, hair donations for cancer patients in Israel have dropped by some 40% and hit a 10-year low, according to the Zichron Menachem charity, which supports children with cancer and their families. Zichron Menachem runs a yearly campaign known as "Braid of Love" that encourages people to donate hair to make wigs for women and girls who lose theirs to cancer treatment.
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"We have more luck than brains," says Zichron Menachem chairman Chaim Ehrental. "Only three years ago we set up our wig project in Jerusalem and stopped depending on wigmakers from China. I don't want to think that would have happened if we'd had to wait for shipments from China, not to mention the concern in recent months over every shipment from abroad."
According to Ehrental, "Thanks to the amazing donation by the people of Israel over the years, we had stocks of hair, so our wig initiative continued to work at the same level of efficiency. No woman, teenager, or girl has been left without a response that meets their specific requests. Still, I'm worried from the thinning supply. We have a major gap to fill."
Chaim and Miri Ehrental founded the organization in the 1990s, and later were awarded the Israel Prize for Lifetime Achievement for their initiative. The charity is named after the couple's son, Menachem, who died after battling cancer for over 14 years.
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