When COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and closures began sweeping across the nation in March 2020, several Carmel firefighters decided it was as good a time as any to grow out their hair.
Three years later, on March 14, the last of those firefighters finally said goodbye to his new do, shearing off more than a foot of hair to donate to a charity that is special to him.
Matt DeRyckere underwent the transformation at Carmel Fire Dept. Station 341, where he is a firefighter/EMT. The last time he had a haircut was February 2020.
“Once it got kind of long, I was like, ‘I think I can keep this going until it’s long enough to donate,’” he said. DeRyckere donated his hair to Children With Hair Loss, a nonprofit that provides free naturally made hair replacements to children.