Monday, March 16, 2009

Free Hair Cuts For Community Folks Who Have Lost Jobs and Homes

Dawn Renee Salon & Day Spa Announces Hair for Hope. A Plan to Offer Free Hair Cuts & More to Members of the Community Who Have Lost Their Jobs and Homes in This Tough Economy.

Concord, CA March 12th, 2009 – Dawn Renee Salon & Day Spa is teaming up with SHELTER, Inc of Contra Costa County to offer free haircuts to Contra Costa County residents who have lost their homes and jobs due to the troubling economy. On Monday, April 6th, from 9 am to 6 pm, Dawn Renee Salon and Day Spa will open its doors to dozens of displaced residents and offer hair cuts, shampoos, child care, donated food and donated toiletries.

Salon Owner, Dawn Renee, said it was a recent episode of Oprah that inspired her. The show reported on the tent cities popping up across the country due to foreclosures. A homeless woman from a Sacramento tent community was interviewed. She had lost her cashier job and her husband was laid off from his construction job. Next thing you know, they were homeless. The lady being interviewed said the hardest part about living in the tent city was not having her own bathroom. She missed being able to wash her face, fix her hair, put makeup on and feel pretty.

"I just started crying," said Dawn Renee. "I thought, how could I help these people? Then the idea to open up my salon doors and offer them the chance to feel confident and pretty came to me. A haircut may seem like a small thing, but when you are trying to schedule job interviews and find housing, a great haircut and a little TLC might give someone the confidence they need to make it happen.”

Dawn Renee immediately started working on bringing this idea to fruition. She found hairdressers to volunteer their time, a local dentist to donate toothbrushes and toothpaste, church groups to offer up childcare, food donations and more. She also teamed up with SHELTER, Inc. of Contra Costa County, a non-profit organization that works to help people find homes. They agreed to pass out haircut vouchers to those in need.

Resource Coordinator for SHELTER Inc, said she knew dozens of deserving individuals that could really use a day at the salon. "In Contra Costa County people are losing their homes at an alarming rate. We have so many families that need housing and not enough places to put them. I know they will benefit so much from this opportunity."

According to Dawn Renee, she felt she needed to do something and there was no way she could offer a monetary donation. (It has been a daily struggle to keep the salon doors open during these tough times.) "My talent is making people feel beautiful and I want to give it to those in need. The outpouring of support has been inspiring; I want the people who have been affected by the horrible circumstances of this economy to know that the community cares about them."

Hair for Hope is still in need of donations of all kinds and volunteers. Please call 925-825-9585 to learn how you can help.

ABOUT Dawn Renee Salon and Day Spa – Located at 2151 Salvio Street Suite T, Concord, CA 94518. We are a full service salon that offers the latest in creative hair design, perms and color; facial and body treatments; waxing, make-up and nail care services. Our clients will experience the finest products the beauty industry has to offer. Owner Dawn Renee is a Master Hair Designer/Colorist, Makeup Artist and Image Development Designer. She has worked in the beauty industry for 30 years and has owned her own salon for 20 years. www.dawnreneesalon.com

ABOUT SHELTER, Inc. – The mission of SHELTER, Inc. is to prevent homelessness and promote self-sufficiency among Contra Costa residents. www.shelterincofccc.org

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I saw this clip on the news about a salon that was giving free hair cuts for a day. It caught my curiosity, Myself being a hair stylist for 20+ years wanted to know more about this salon. I looked up the salon on line & read this article. It touched my heart cause I know first hand all about the economic struggles today and running a hair salon isn't cheap. The fact that you gave that day to our community at your expense even when yourself are going through the financial hardship we all are feeling, was a blessing . "We all love to be beautiful." YOU ARE A BEAUTIFUL PERSON.