Train up a child in the way he should go. Even when he is old he will not depart from it. — Proverbs 22:6

Bonnie and Donald Hunt of Doylestown regularly practice that proverb.

And their 10-year-old daughter Tracy Hunt is turning out to be both a student and teacher of it.

Bonnie Hunt, who is a registration clerk at Akron General Medical Center in the Heart and Vascular Center, happily volunteered her daughter's latest charitable cause:

''She's donating 20 inches of her hair to Wigs for Kids to be made into wigs for children who have lost their hair to chemotherapy,'' Hunt said of the haircut that took place Tuesday at Fiesta Hair & Tanning in Norton.

Tracy's hair was 391/2 inches long before the cut. Translation: When she sits down, 8 inches of her hair is on the ground.

''She hasn't had a hair cut, other than me trimming the ends, in five years,'' her mother said.

'' 'I don't need all this hair,' '' Tracy told her mother after viewing a video at Hazel Harvey Elementary School in Doylestown about St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. '' 'Some little girl who can't have hair needs it right now. And mine will grow back sooner than they can have hair, I'm pretty sure.' ''

Tracy also will be donating the 111/2-inch ponytail she had cut off more than five years ago.

Mom Bonnie has twice donated her own hair to Wigs for Kids.

Hair donations in Kent

The Evelyn Dickerson Hair Design salon at 1317 S. Water St. (state Route 43), Kent, is hosting 10 Inches for Locks of Love and Breast Cancer Awareness from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday in conjunction with Kent Roosevelt High School's DECA chapter.

Customers may donate a minimum of 10 inches of hair to be fashioned into a wig for a child who has suffered medical hair loss; or they may receive a haircut for $10.

Appointments are a must. DECA will staff the event.

For information, please call 330-678-0262.

Akron Jaycees award

The long tradition, since 1936, of the Akron Jaycees presenting its Distinguished Service Award continues.

Nominations of worthy individuals ''who have done more than their share to improve the quality of life of the people of Akron'' must be made by Feb. 4.

Request a nomination form by calling 330-867-8055 or e-mailing akronjaycees@netzero.net.

The winner will receive a plaque and $500 to be donated to the recipient's chosen charity.

Mobile Meals donations

Drum roll, please!

Phil Marcin, director of Mobile Meals Inc., said the near-final tally of the in-lieu-of-birthday gifts for an Akron boy stands at about $1,000.

Dylan — so serious about this effort being for the elderly — didn't want to use his last name.

Rather, he just made a pitch to his friends and family to please consider feeding Mobile Meals' homebound elderly clients rather than purchasing gifts for his 13th birthday. Others, hearing of his plan, also donated.

Eye care available

If you're 13 or older and in need of an eye exam and glasses but can't afford them, help is available from the Greater Akron Lions Eyecare Program (GALEP). Just call Summa at 330-375-4833 and let the people there know you're a Lion's Club referral.

Children 12 or younger are automatically accepted.