Fifteen years ago, Jeff Woytovich started searching for support for children with alopecia. Today he is the founder, President and CEO of the Children’s Alopecia Project — a global nonprofit organization devoted specifically to children living with all forms of the disease.
How did the Children’s Alopecia Project (CAP) get its start? I founded it in 2004 because my second of four daughters – Madison – had just started kindergarten when she started losing her hair. We were just looking for support, but when we didn’t find anything out there for kids, especially to help with their self-esteem, I just decided to start my own.
How did you reach this global scale in just 15 years? You know, there was no plan. We just worked our mission, and our mission is to help kids. If something worked, we did it again and tried to grow it bigger so more kids could get involved. When we raise money, I don’t sit on it. I want to use it. So the more money that comes in, the more we invest in our programs.
What programming is available through CAP? We have more than 50 CAP Kid Groups around the world – regional groups of supporters who meet on a regular basis. We support them with whatever they need, whether that’s resource materials, event ideas or speakers. In addition to that, we have six camps around the country every year. And one of our biggest initiatives right now is the CAP to You Tour. I’m traveling the country speaking at schools. We’re spreading awareness about the disease, but mostly we’re teaching inclusivity and tolerance. Everybody has something they don’t like about themselves, and we want to teach them to own what makes them different. Everyone is different, and that’s why you’re normal.
What are the camps like? We feature notable speakers with alopecia – actors, athletes, writers. Not only do they inspire the kids, but just having them interact with adults and mentors with alopecia helps them to let their guard down. We also have a master-level therapist on staff who helps coordinate the activities, which are basically designed to fool the kids into developing self-esteem. We’re not just sitting down and asking them how they feel; we’re taking them out of their comfort zone and putting them into a position where they essentially have to sink or swim, and it’s amazing how good they feel about themselves when they swim.
Is your family involved as well? Oh yes. My wife is awesome; it’s amazing how we’ve shared this journey. My girls are all-in as well. It was really cool when they were younger because they had friends with alopecia, so they weren’t looking at them any differently than anyone else. Now as young adults, that’s how they interact with everyone; they really do see through to the person. And that’s why CAP is a family organization. We want parents and siblings to be involved, too. They’re also going to experience the stares and the whispers and the questions. When everyone is involved, the child with the disease just feels the love, and that makes everything else easy.
Disease Defined.
Alopecia is an autoimmune disease with no effective treatment or cure. It causes the body to attack itself, especially the hair, resulting in anything from a temporary bald spot to total hair loss.
Get Involved.
Know someone with alopecia? Find more information on the local CAP Kid Group on facebook.com/CAPKidGroupPA or email Jeff at Jeff.Woytovich@ChildrensAlopeciaProject.org.
