Five North Houston Early College High School students are using their senior research project to help cancer patients.

The project Leonardo Banda, Adelina Compean, Ruby Laparra, Jessica Miner and Daniel Padron have been working on is called “Care to Share Hair.” They have grown their hair for several years so they can donate it to Locks of Love and Pantene Beautiful Lengths, which will turn their donations into wigs.

“Many patients often find it hard to get hair because of the cost,” Miner said. “These organizations make it easier for patients to obtain hair. These girls don’t want to be pitied and we want to help them.”

Miner and Compean have donated their hair before. Miner donated hair in the eighth-grade and Compean, who is a former cancer patient, continually grows and cuts her hair to donate.

The group has also collected money for MD Anderson Cancer Center research and plans to donate it at the end of their senior year.