Hi - I'm Hair Farmer Joe.

I'm cultivating hair (on my own head) for Locks of Love, so that a child can have a full head of hair during and after medical treatment that may have caused theirs to fall out.

When I was around 12 years old I was in Children's Orthopedic Hospital in Seattle for an extended stay. The doctors feared I had bone cancer and had me scheduled for surgery to amputate my right arm. At the last moment, my friend Matt's father, Dr. David B. Shurtleff somehow figured out that I had been injured months before and had a staff bone infection and not cancer. It was Matt who first I ever heard come up with the name "Hair Farmer" and I thought it was appropriate for this project.

While I was in COH, there were many children near my age who came in with Leukemia and didn't make it out. Some of them were in various stages of chemo and had total hair loss. The good news is that medical technology is even better these days and treatment is usually more effective. So now even more children who undergo certain medical treatments and suffer hairloss can need a head of human hair so they don't feel so embarrassed or stigmatized.

Up to this point in my life I have not been able to give back to COH outside of some publicity for fundraising events in Eastside Business, but now I want to bring awareness to the need of human hair - especially for children under the age of 18. I encourage and challenge anyone and everyone to grow their hair to the required length and donate it to Locks of Love or a similar organization. Everyone who does this will have their picture in the print edition of Eastside Business and a free 1/8 page full color advertisement (over a $225 value) upon hair donation. I challenge the owners and publishers of all business journals (especially in the Pacific Northwest) to also sponsor a hair farming challenge and to lead the way through positive example. I promise you that I will give our readers regular updates on the hair growing business, but also about its trials and tribulations. After all, it is for the kids and kids are worth it.

If you are someone that I meet in a business or networking situation, I apologize in advance if I look a little shaggy or if I'm wearing a baseball hat. It is meant as no-disrespect for you, but as a deep respect for the children who need the hair that I and many others around the world are growing. My goal is to create awareness of the need and then challenge people and businesses to help do what needs to be done to fill the need. A simple act like growing hair for a sick child can make such a positive difference in their lives and it's something that many people can do without changing their own lifestyles (at least I hope so). I challenge you to become a Hair Farmer too! (It's good for the environment - fewer trips to the barber or stylist to get your hair cut).