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Haley and Kateri Reedy are generous girls.

Haley, who is 16, recently made her fourth donation of hair to Locks of Love, a charity that provides hairpieces to children in need who have long-term hair loss from medical conditions.

Haley's sister, Kateri, who's just six years old, just made her second donation to Locks of Love. In total, the two parishioners of All Saints parish in Albany have donated 64 inches of hair.

The girls' mother, Jeanie Reedy, said that her daughters' interest in Locks of Love developed when Haley first heard about children with alopecia, an auto-immune disorder that causes the hair follicles to shut down.

Alopecia affects 4.7 million people to varying degrees in the United States alone, according to Locks of Love.

Relating
Both Haley and Kateri have Down Syndrome. Mrs. Reedy told The Evangelist that alopecia and other auto-immune disorders are more common in people with Down Syndrome - and, when Haley learned of another girl with Down Syndrome who had alopecia, she wanted to help the girl.

"I like having long hair," Haley explained. "I gave someone hair because she had none."

Cool hair
Mrs. Reedy said that her daughters both have long brown hair - until their recent cuts, that is - with various color highlights.

"It's just the coolest color of brown," Mrs. Reedy boasted.

While the girls are 10 years apart in age, Mrs. Reedy said they are mirror images of each other. She said they can just look at each other and know what the other is thinking.

This comes in handy, as Kateri currently isn't speaking. Often, to make her needs known, she looks to her sister to speak for her.

The girls also share common interests: watching Nickelodeon television shows, especially "I Carly," and playing baseball.

In addition, Haley likes following local sports teams like the Tri City Valley Cats baseball team and the Siena Saints, the basketball team from Siena College in Loudonville. A student at Guilderland Central High School, Haley also enjoys spending time with her friends.

New look
Parenting two daughters with Down Syndrome - in addition to sons Calvin, 20, and Kyle, 18 - has given Mrs. Reedy a different outlook on the world.

"The girls are a blessing," she said. "There are things I see because of them. We enjoy the girls for who they are."

All Saints parish has been supportive of the family, she said, and Calvin and Kyle "are fantastic. When the girls were young, they had phenomenal needs."

Mrs. Reedy remembered her surprise at learning that Kateri also had Down Syndrome; she said it's rare for two sisters to have the syndrome.

But "Calvin said, 'Of course God gave us another child with Down Syndrome. Someone else would have an abortion,'" Mrs. Reedy said.[[In-content Ad]]

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