Watertown Fire Department
Watertown Firefighter Willie Gaitan shows off his newly shaved head. He cut it after three years to celebrate the Fire contact signing and help a cancer patient.
A Watertown firefighter decided to celebrate the signing of the Watertown Fire contract after more than 6.5 years without one by making a special donation to help a cancer patient.
Fellow firefighters noticed that Guillermo “Willie” Gaitan, a 30-year veteran of the WFD, had hair long enough for a ponytail. Willie half-jokingly said that he was not going to cut it until they had a contract, according to another firefighter. That was almost 3 years ago.
Last week, upon the yes vote on the contract for Watertown Firefighters Local 1347, Firefighter Gaitan headed to the barber shop.
When asked about his decision Willie replied, “I saw an opportunity to help others, and that’s what we do.”
Watertown Fire Department
Watertown Firefighter Willie Gaitan’s shaved hair produced a 15-inch braid for a cancer patient.
His hair created a 15-inch braid, which has been donated to Pantene Beautiful Lengths, which partners with the American Cancer Society to donate ponytails and funds the crafting of wigs for cancer patients.
To date, Beautiful Lengths has donated over 42,000 wigs free of charge to those in need.
For those interested in the donating or getting involved go to http://pantene.com/en-us/brandexperience/about-the-program
Willie is great. Even when he was working without a contract he was always smiling. The Firefighters, Police and all first responders that service Watertown are the greatest. Glad to see that they are getting what they deserve.
Congrats to finally getting a reasonable contract. A big thank you for donating all that hair to help someone in need. WATERTOWN STRONG!!!
AWESOME WILLIE!!!!!