Like many taking part in events related to Coaches vs. Cancer, Alex Griggs has a personal connection to someone who has fought the disease; and she’s joining in with several of her friends, to follow through on an old pact to help out.

Griggs is on the Knoxville Panthers girls basketball team; she’s joining her teammates Molly Devon and Kelsey Ryan, and their friends Emery Neer and Anna Sanderson, in raffling off the opportunity to cut their hair during the events on Saturday.

These seniors agreed back in middle school to grow out their hair, and then raffle it off to raise money for Coaches vs. Cancer; Alex tells KNIA/KRLS News she knows personally the struggles someone with cancer goes through.

“My grandma used to have, she had breast cancer…she’s a breast cancer survivor. And she had all of her hair cut off; so I think it would be really cool to, when my hair’s cut I can help someone in need…having to go through that,” Alex says.

Tickets will be sold during the day, and the winners will get to trim the girl’s hair…some of which is now at waist-length. The hair itself will be donated to Children with Hair Loss, a charity which uses hair to fashion wigs for those who have lost their own hair due to cancer treatment.