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NewslettersStylists in Port Royal will be trimming locks to fight breast cancer this weekend at Cut-A-Thon
Amy Smith admits she doesn't like being in the spotlight, but having so many friends and family affected by breast cancer has given her a change of heart.
Stylists in Port Royal will be trimming locks to fight breast cancer this weekend at Cut-A-Thon
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From 12-5 p.m. Saturday, Port Royal Oktoberfest in Port Royal will be hosting a Cut-A-Thon to benefit the local "Look Good, Feel Better" program, an initiative of the American Cancer Society.
The program, based at Beaufort Memorial Hospital, was founded in 1989 and helps women offset appearance-related changes from cancer treatment. Its other sponsors include the National Cosmetology Association and the Personal Care Products Council Foundation.
"I've never done this, (but) I wanted to raise awareness," said Smith, 41. "I wanted to do something (to) give back to people. If you think you look good, even in the worst times of how bad you feel, you feel better."
Smith said she wanted to host the benefit during October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Jill Weaver, Orchid Salon's marketing coordinator, has been helping to plan the benefit.
"When women go through chemotherapy, they're losing their hair and eyebrows, their skin tone changes," Weaver said. "Everything that you're used to doing with your beauty routine is out the door, so they need to figure out how to redo everything they've always known how to do, and that's what this program does.
"It's providing a wellness for these women who are going through so many changes all at once, but it's providing them a little bit of sanity and normalcy to a crazy time in their life," Weaver said.
The Cut-A-Thon is also taking place the same weekend as Port Royal's Oktoberfest, and Smith is hoping that the crowd increases participation in the benefit.
All haircuts during the Cut-A-Thon will cost $20. No appointments are necessary, and men and children are encouraged to participate. Orchid is an Aveda Concept Salon, and stylists will be giving dry cuts with finger styling using Aveda products. Smith's oldest son, Brett, 21, is among the stylists at Orchid.
Although Smith has never hosted a benefit, the salon, which opened in the spring of 2007, has previously raised money for breast cancer awareness by selling Aveda Hand Relief lotion.
"Aveda is all about giving back to your body and your health," Smith said. "Our drive for October is always breast cancer awareness, and Aveda donates $4 of every (Hand Relief) container to the Susan G. Komen breast cancer foundation."
As the community manager for the local American Cancer Society, Lesa Allen-Gaither coordinates the Look Good, Feel Good program and is in charge of an area that serves Beaufort, Jasper, Hampton, Allendale, Bamburg and Barnwell counties. She said hosting benefits like the Cut-A-Thon are the main way the cancer society raises funds.
"We're grateful to Orchid for their initiative," said Allen-Gaither. "They took this on (and) came to us. It was something they wanted to do, and we appreciate it. (The local American Cancer Society) is a volunteer-driven organization. I'm a one-staff person over six counties, so I can't begin to raise the funds, educate the people and do it all. It is a community effort to bring about this type of change as it relates to cancer treatment and providing services and resources."
Look Good, Feel Better hosts one support session a month for area cancer patients, but Allen-Gaither would like to see more people involved in the program.
"We're not scratching the surface on the number of cancer patients that we could serve," she said. "We average about three a session, but we can handle up to eight, (which) is a good number that the one to two volunteers that are typically at a session can handle."
Each session includes a beauty consultation with a professional. Allen-Gaither added that research has shown that the better cancer patients feel about themselves the more it can enhance their treatment and the outcomes.
Smith has not set a goal of how much money she would like to raise, but she said she got inspiration from a friend of hers in Myrtle Beach who raised $10,000 during a golf tournament last year.
She said that she would like to focus the donations on purchasing wigs and making them available to women who need them. No matter the end result, Smith would like to make the benefit an annual event.
"It's really important, because I have truly been rewarded by people being so good and kind to me, and a lot of those people have since passed away from some form of cancer," said Smith. "This just makes me feel like, if I can ever make a difference and help somebody else or other people, that I can."
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