Alva Review-Courier -

Kieran Moïse's afro was a splendid 19 inches, a huge part of his personality. But after six years of growth, the 17-year-old Alabamian knew that he and his hair would soon be parted: He was bound for the U.S. Air Force Academy.

So in memory of a friend who died from cancer, he cut it off and donated it to the nonprofit Children With Hair Loss, which provides human hair replacements to children and teenagers facing medically related hair loss due to cancer treatments, alopecia and burns.

"I knew I didn't want it to just get cut off and thrown on the floor, so I wanted to give back," he said. "I...