PSEG Employee Turns a Hairy Situation Into a Silver Lining for Children in Need

John Doherty, director – internal and external reporting in Corporate Accounting, just squeezed in a haircut before the world shut down in March 2020. Little did he know that this would be his last haircut for almost two years. But in the end, his hairy situation would end up benefitting children in need. Here’s his story.

“Once the COVID restrictions were put in place, I couldn’t go to a barber, and even when restrictions were eased, I didn’t really feel comfortable going yet. Since we were working from home anyway and communicating primarily through the Webex teleconference system without being on camera, I wasn’t as concerned with keeping my hair shorter, so I decided to grow it out for the next few months. Once we implemented Zoom at the company and started having more on-camera meetings, my hair and my beard were already fairly long.

Some were a bit surprised by my appearance, but most were very accepting of my new look, so I decided to turn the negative of not being able to get a haircut into a positive and keep growing my hair for donation. My brother has done it several times over the years and I had done it once toward the end of college. I always thought about doing it again, and the time was right.

The process took a little longer than expected as my hair growth slowed down a bit the longer it got, but at just under two years, it was long enough to donate 12 inches to Wigs for Kids* earlier this month. It was such a wonderful experience that I will be starting the process over again and plan to continue donating for as long as I can.”

*Wigs for Kids helps change the lives of children affected by medical issues causing hair loss by giving them back self-esteem and hope. Learn more, including how to donate.