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January 1, 2016  by

We are once again Freezin’ for a Reason!

Updated 1/15/2015: On Monday evening, January 11, 2015, I learned that Kate Rhoades relapsed to ALL just four short months after celebrating her end of treatment for the incidious disease.

Just a few short hours later, on Tuesday morning, January 12th, 2015, I learned that Kate, at just four and a half years young, had passed.

I have known her mother, Lindsay, for nearly twenty years. Kate was born just three months after our youngest, Ellie Grace. For two years, Kate underwent treatments. We prayed for her. We prayed for Mike, Lindsay, and Cheryl, Kate’s grandmother who was with Kate non-stop throughout. We celebrated from afar the good days. We cried for the bad days. We rejoiced at being at Kate’s End of Treatment party in September. And now we mourn the loss of a precious, sweet child, to cancer.

Cancer, I despise you. You keep taking precious children from their parents. You are taking mothers and fathers from their children and husbands and wives from their soulmates. I will continue to spread awareness about childhood cancers. I will contiunue to pray for a cure. I will continue to pray for these families enduring barbaric treatments.

This year, our team is jumping for Kate Rhoades. We hope to honor you well, precious Kate. We hope to raise a ton of money so that little ones fighting can enjoy time with their families at Camp Sunshine. I promise to continue to raise money for treatments in your honor, as well. You will not be forgotten. Ever.

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In 2015, a team made up of Salon Khouri team members and friends plunged into the frozen waters of Lake Anne in Reston by participating in the Virginia Polar Dip to raise money for Camp Sunshine in Casco, Maine. We are once again taking the plunge and participating in the 2016 Virginia Polar Dip. We are humbly asking for your support.

All money raised goes to support Camp Sunshine. Camp Sunshine provides respite, support, joy, and hope to children with life-threatening illnesses and their immediate families from around the world through the various stages of their journeys. The year-round program is free of charge to all families, and includes 24-hour onsite medical and psychosocial support. Camp Sunshine also provides bereavement sessions for families who have lost a child to supported illnesses.

Please help our team reach our goal by making a donation to our team or, better yet, become a member of our team and take the plunge with us!

  • Anyone who donates will be entered into a drawing to win a FREE haircut or facial.
  • Anyone who joins our team receives a FREE haircut!!!

EVENT DETAILS

Event Date: Saturday, February 6th, 2016

Plunge: 2 PM

Registration: 12 noon

Location: Reston Community Center, Lake Anne Village Center, Reston, VA

Additionally, Salon Khouri will be donating a portion of our proceeds from both our Fairfax and Dulles Landing locations in January to The Virginia Polar Dip!

VA Polar Dip 2016

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December 2, 2015  by

Helping the Homeless through The Lamb Center and The Good Shepherd Alliance

LambCenter This December, we are again partnering with a tremendous organization in Fairfax called the Lamb Center. The Lamb Center is a group of caring and determined creative problem-solvers who want to make a difference. Their mission is to serve the poor and homeless, transform lives, and share God’s love. In addition to providing hot meals, showers, laundry, resume assistance and other services, The Lamb Center provides much needed counseling that encompasses spiritual, psychological, life and employment dimensions. We urge you to learn more via the website or to volunteer for The Lamb Center. We will be donating $1 from every haircut in December from our Fairfax location to The Lamb Center.

 

For our Dulles Landing location, we wanted to reach out to a Loudoun based non-profit, also with a heart for our homeless. We selected The Good Shepherd Alliance. The Good Shepherd Alliance is a Christian non-profit organization providing help and hope for the homeless and those in need through emergency and transitional housing.GoodShepherdAlliance Their outreach services help lead individuals to self-sufficiency and self-worth. The Good Shepherd Alliance views their clients as individuals and seeks to create relationships with them. Unfortunately,  many view the homeless as problems that need to be resolved. We will be donating $1 from every haircut in December from our Dulles Landing location to this tremendous non-profit. Please visit their website to learn more or to learn about volunteer opportunities with them.

 

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November 4, 2015  by

Helping feed our local brothers and sisters!

It’s so easy to take things for granted when we have abundance, particularly when it comes to a basic necessity such as food. However, this isn’t the reality for all. In fact, there are many of your neighbors who are struggling to have food to put on their tables each night. We have such a heart for local organizations who are ensuring our brothers and sisters are nourished. This November, we are donating $1 from every haircut to two wonderful, local non-profits who are ensuring that our neighbors have food on the table. Our Fairfax location is partnering once again with Our Daily Bread Fairfax, and our Dulles Landing location is partnering with Dulles South Food Pantry.

We will also be collecting food at both location for donation to the respective non-profits. A complete list of most wanted items for Our Daily Bread Fairfax can be found here, while a list of most wanted items for Dulles South Food pantry can be found here.

Both organizations have amazing outreach to our community and help ensure that those in need are fed while at the same time, promoting self-sufficiency to those served. Please take a moment to learn about each organization from their websites by clicking their respective logos below. Our hope is you will be encouraged by the good they do to help them continue to do so!

 

ODB30thAnnivLogo-siteDullesSouthFoodPantry

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October 13, 2015  by

Collecting shoe donations for the FCCLA at John Champe High School

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Please drop off shoes in any size and any condition at Salon Khouri Dulles this October, November, and December. We are helping the FCCLA club at John Champe High School with their community outreach project to collect shoes for donation. These shoes are sent abroad for repair and resale, which helps create jobs for struggling economies in impoverished countries.

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October 3, 2015  by

Imagine being diagnosed with breast cancer at 32

Tigerlily logoThe reality for Maimah Karmo, at just 32 years young, was a diagnosis of breast cancer. Maimah’s daughter was just three years old at the time. Thankfully, Maimah’s faith and tremendous family support got her through her treatments. She emerged on the other side a transformed woman and wanted to create an organization that would help other young women diagnosed with breast cancer. Thus was born the Tigerlily Foundation. Tigerlily Foundation committed to educating young women around the world about breast cancer and empowering them to be their own best advocates. She is dedicated to changing the young adult breast cancer landscape and seeks to impact the quality of care and lifestyle for young women affected by this disease.

A few quick facts about breast cancer:

  • Every 3 minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer
  • 1 out of 8 women will be diagnosed
  • 70% of those diagnosed have zero family history of the disease
  • 81% of those diagnosed will beat the disease

Please take a moment to watch this short video to learn more:

This October, in addition to participating in our 10th annual Pink Hair for Hope campaign, we will be donating $1 from every haircut to Tigerlily Foundation.

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September 4, 2015  by

Gold Hair for a Cure!

We are once again offering yellow-gold extensions for $10 with all proceeds being donated to the Pediatric Dream Team through The Truth 365! Please come in this September and show your support – #GoGold!

We are working hard to turn Gold Hair for a Cure into a national program with She by SO.CAP. If you have two seconds, please send them an email to let them know how much it would mean to you if they implemented a National Program with The Truth 365!

 

GoGold

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September 4, 2015  by

Promise us this …

The Childhood Cancer Awareness movement is growing. Our hope is that the color gold instantly makes people think, “childhood cancer awareness” just as pink conjures up “breast cancer awareness” for many. Yes, the movement is growing, but there is still a lot of work to be done.

There have been only three drugs in the past twenty years approved by the FDA that were specifically developed to treat children with cancer. And that number grew from two to three just this year. This is simply not acceptable.

The National Cancer Institute spends just 4% of it’s federal research dollars on childhood cancer research funding. Just 4%. This is simply not acceptable.

The incidents of childhood cancer have increased 29% in the past twenty years. As our friend Tom Mitchell at Stillbrave said, “we spend more as a nation on potato chips than we do finding a cure for various childhood cancers.” This is simply not acceptable.

There are more facts on childhood cancer, but you are probably getting a little overwhelmed thinking, “what can I do?” Well, the truth is, there’s a LOT you can do!

First, you can sign the Petition on The Truth 365 website asking Congress to make children a national priority by increasing federal funding for childhood cancer research.

You can volunteer with local organizations such as Stillbrave, Ellie’s Hats, Kyle’s Kamp, Journey4ACure, participate in CureFest on September 20th, or email us to get connected to other many wonderful groups.

 

You can come into Salon Khouri during the month of September and get a haircut or a yellow-gold hair extension. We are donating $1 from every haircut in both our Dulles Landing and Fairfax locations to The Truth 365. We are donating net proceeds from the $10 yellow-gold hair extensions as well! Or, come see us at CureFest to learn more about how to implement a Crazy Hair Day at your school to raise money and awareness for childhood cancers.

Will you promise that you will do just one thing on this list? Then, tell someone about it. Ask them to do one thing too. Let’s keep the movement going! Help us spread awareness!

 

#GoGold

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August 3, 2015  by

Facebook feed blackhole – how to ‘relike’ your favorite pages

We often hear from our Salon Khouri Enthusiasts that they never see our Facebook posts appear in their newsfeeds. Well, if you have ‘Liked’ the Salon Khouri Facebook page then wonder why you never see our posts, it’s due to Facebook constantly tinkering with their algorithm of what appears in your newsfeed. Facebook’s constant changes are very difficult for small business owners to navigate. What makes some of these recent changes more difficult for the small business owner is how Facebook has changed the game so that businesses are now having to pay for posts to show up in their fans’ newsfeeds. Yes, you heard us … we have to pay to get you to see content that you’ve told Facebook you want to see by the mere fact that you ‘Liked’ our page. Not a big deal for large companies with tremendous advertising budgets, but it’s pretty frustrating for smaller ones with limited advertising dollars. But, thanks to some clever folks in internet land, we found a few ways to help you get more of our content in your feed.

We want to start by saying that we typically only post once a day (if that), so please know that we won’t be junking up your newsfeed by following the steps below to ensure more of our content shows on your feed.

The first thing you will want to do is navigate to our Salon Khouri Facebook page. Once there, hover over the Like button (click Like if you have not yet Liked our page), then select, Get Notifications:
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Next, a button should appear to the right of the ‘Liked’ button which will allow you to customize how you see our posts in your Newsfeed. Here, select See First.

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Additionally, please be sure to Like, Comment, or Share our posts. Even though you have completed the steps above, Facebook also uses these statistics when deciding what appears in your Newsfeed.

Facebook has been a great way for us to connect with our Enthusiasts and to share information about our Community Partners, to have contests, and to highlight some of the phenomenal work our amazing team does. We hope you enjoy what we post and always value feedback from you on how we can improve! We just want to be sure you are actually seeing what we post 🙂

 

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August 1, 2015  by

Tom won’t stop fighting so neither will we!

Ask any child in Northern Virginia who is fighting or who has fought cancer, “Who is Tattoo Tom?” and they will likely crack the widest grin you’ve ever seen. “Tattoo” Tom Mitchell is the founder of the Stillbrave Childhood Cancer Foundation whose mission is to provide non-medical, supportive care to children with cancer and their families. Their mission is to help families of children battling cancer in any way that Stillbrave can:

While they are fighting the toughest war of their lives, we will fight their lesser battles, so they don’t have to. We are not only here to support children with cancer; we are here to help ease the burden of the family and the caregivers who are fighting battles of their own.

Stillbrave does everything from helping families pay bills, to proviTomStillbraveding gas and grocery cards, to helping with household chores like yard work and repairs, and even babysitting. But something Stillbrave gives that is not mentioned in the list on their website is Tom’s heart. Yes, this man who may intimidate most by his burly, tattooed appearance, is actually a man with a gigantic and giving heart. He sits with children for hours at the hospital. He dances with them, and plays games with them. He holds their hands when they are scared. He holds their little bodies when they wake up from procedures and they ask for Tom instead of mom. Tom gives of himself to these kids in such a beautiful way. Tom knows first hand what it’s like to have a child battle cancer: Tom lost his daughter, Shayla, to cancer when she was just 16 years old. As Tom gives of his huge heart to these little ones, they help to fill it with more love. But his heart is clearly battle torn. There are holes that will never be filled — there is a huge hole left when he lost his daughter Shayla. And there is a new hole each time Tom loses another one of the kids he loves: Gabby, Lily and Mathias to name just three from a list that should never even have one name on it.

Raising money for non-profits, especially in a down economy, you have to be creative. In 2013, Tom ran in the Northface Endurance Challenge Gore-Tex 50 miler and sought donations for Stillbrave. Then, in 2014, he up’d the ante and ran in the Mohican Trail 100. Yes, 100 miles. On his feet. To get through the race, Tom dedicated each mile to a child who is fighting, has fought, or who lost their battle to cancer. Mile 100 was dedicated to Tom’s daughter Shayla. “I am Stillbrave for her,” Tom told WJLA news last year during the Mohican 100. This year, Tom will be running in the Tahoe 200 mile ultra marathon. Two hundred miles is the approximate distance from DC to Virginia Beach! Tom is again dedicating each mile to a child who has lost, is fighting or who has fought cancer. And again, he is seeking donations for Stillbrave by running this race. Tom is asking for Mile Sponsors – individuals and companies who will step forward and donate $1,000 to sponsor a mile in honor or memory of one of the children for whom Tom is running. As of August 1st, Tom has raised $75,542 of his $200,000 goal. [Click here to sponsor a mile!]

Salon Khouri is sponsoring mile 65 in honor of Kate Rhoades, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia when she was just two years old. I’ve known Kate’s mom, Lindsay, for 17 years; we met while working at a non-profit in Old Town. Jonathan and I had our third child just a few months before Lindsay gave birth to Kate. I won’t forget the day I learned of Kate’s diagnosis with leukemia in August of 2013. Tears streamed down my face as I knew all too well the long and frightening road ahead of them. Kate’s chemo began immediately — in August of 2013 — and will be ending in six weeks from now … take a moment to let that timeframe sink in. We knew it would be a long and difficult road for Kate and her parents as Jonathan and I had unfortunately already experienced friends whose children were diagnosed with cancer. And yet, organizations like the National Cancer Institute appropriate only 4% of their research dollars to childhood cancer because it’s “rare.” You can read more about the cold, hard facts of childhood cancer here.

We are so very passionate about these kids. We pray that we will soon see a cure. And we will continue to do what we can to help. The children Tom is running for continue to inspire us. People like Tom inspire us. They will keep fighting, and so will we!

To additionally help Stillbrave, we will be collecting gas, grocery and restaurant cards during the month of August. The next time you are in the checkout line, grab a giftcard to bring in! To thank you for your help, everyone bringing in a gift card for Stillbrave will be entered into a drawing to win a 60 minute Salon Khouri Signature Facial.

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