BUCKEYE, AZ — Inside the E-Beauty House in Buckeye, volunteers are working hard to change the lives of women across the country.
“I’m doing Natalie's brown wavy long, that’s really pretty,” shouted one volunteer as she inspected a wig pulled from a plastic bag.
Every week, the nonprofit sorts through huge shipments of wigs. New and used, sorted by appearance into bins, before heading to their new homes.
“It’s really a very simple premise that’s had a very powerful impact on each individual woman it touches,” said Laura Jirsa.
Jirsa, COO of E-beauty Community, is a two-time breast cancer survivor.
Over the past 11 years, the nonprofit has made it its mission to restore confidence to those experiencing medical hair loss. A loss Jirsa has experienced firsthand.
“Well, I’ve lost my hair twice and it’s difficult, I gotta say, sometimes it’s overwhelming,” said Jirsa. “With hair loss, it’s extremely challenging, it sometimes defines a woman, it’s part of her self image, it’s part of her confidence.”
For many women battling cancer, losing their hair is often the first visible sign of their illness and a quality wig can often come with a heavy price tag.
“I’m a cancer survivor and I probably went through thirty wigs before I found two that worked for me so we do our best to try and match up as closely as we can to what the person looked like before they lost their hair,” said Leslie Rager pointing to the different options.
Here at E-Beauty, not only are the wigs free but come in a huge assortment of cuts, colors, styles and lengths.
Women who have completed cancer treatment donate their used wigs to E-Beauty, which are then refurbished and distributed directly to others beginning their own journey.
“We wouldn’t be able to do this without the help of Paul Mitchell schools, they clean and refurbish all of our wigs so that we can then send them to hospital partners across the nation,” said Jirsa.
They also couldn’t do it without their amazing local volunteers who delicately brush and package wigs to be shipped by the hundreds every week.
Many of these volunteers also beat cancer or at the very least know someone who has.
“We’ve all been touched by cancer or somebody with cancer so it’s very personal to us,” said Christy Clements.
Thank you cards cover the wall outside the office, providing a reminder of the difference they’re making every day. Since 2011, the nonprofit has given away more than 65,000 wigs and counting.
“Beautiful women are getting these wigs that’s what we’re happy about,” said volunteer Jackie Rosner.
The biggest cost to them is shipping which can add up quickly due to the volume of wigs they are providing.
If you’d like to help keep this mission going, you can donate to them here.