community

Have you got some spare change?

Our March community campaign is to help raise money for the Kids Helping Kids Stop Hunger drive. Please take a moment to watch this brief video to learn more. We are so very encouraged and inspired by these little guys doing what they can to help others!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dK6la8b97tc]

Please remember to drop your quarters in our collection jar at the front desk. We will also donate $5 from every kids haircut in March to this worthy cause.

Stop Hunger Now is an international hunger relief organization that coordinates the distribution of food and other life-saving aid around the world. The organization is driven by a vision of a world without hunger and a mission to end hunger in our lifetime by providing food and life-saving aid to the world’s most vulnerable and by creating a global commitment to mobilize the necessary resources.

Stop Hunger Now’s meal packaging program provides volunteers the opportunity to package dehydrated, high protein, and highly nutritious meals that are used primarily to support development programs and to save lives in developing countries around the world.

Can we introduce you to an amazing woman?

Minu taking care of herself and her heart -- working hard on the treadmill.

Minu just six months after open heart surgery

I was flipping through my Facebook feed a few weeks ago and saw a slightly blurry picture of a beautiful woman on a treadmill. I’ve shared the photo with you above so that you can hopefully see what I did. There was something about her smile and the happiness dancing in her eyes. She had a look about her like she was ready for an adventure and her demeanor is not just inviting you to go with her, but daring you to. My eyes then glanced at the text above the photo in the Facebook feed: “Who would have known my mom had open heart surgery 6 months ago! Amazing.”

I nearly fell out of my chair and I had to know more. I asked my friend if she would mind bringing her mother in for a little bit of well-deserved pampering at Salon Khouri so that I could talk to her and learn more about the woman behind the mischievous grin.

Minu is 66 years old. She’s been battling high blood pressure for over thirty years. Over the last several years, she has been struggling with bouts of severe depression. During a visit to her cardiologist in 2012, it was discovered that her left main artery was 98% blocked. The scan also revealed that her aorta was about to tear. This came as a complete shock to Minu and her family. Quick to take action, the family met with the Medical Director of Cardiac Surgery of Inova Fairfax Hospital, Dr. Alan Speir, who soon after performed open heart surgery on Minu to save her life. During recovery,  both of Minu’s lungs completely collapsed and Minu was placed in ICU where she fought for her life. But, as you may have noticed from Minu’s grin, she’s a fighter. Just six days later, Minu was on a path to recovery and was released soon after. She began cardiac rehab sessions every other day for three months, and now visits for follow-ups, and to show off her amazing shape!

A gift that Minu serendipitously received from having the surgery is that her depression is now almost subsided. We both chatted about the possibility of the lack of proper blood flow that could have been a major contributor to her depression. I asked her what she now does to remain healthy and she proudly replied that she exercises thirty minutes a day and lifts light weights to keep her heart and body in shape.

As you may know, February is heart awareness month. Last February, we launched a “color for hearts” campaign at Salon Khouri, donating $5 from every hair color to the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women fund which we are again doing this year. I fell in love with Minu — her passion, her warmth, her teasing smile and playful eyes. We have nominated her as our role model for women’s heart awareness. Her story is remarkable and her determination is absolutely something that we can all be encouraged by.

Minu after a little pampering at Salon Khouri

Minu after a little pampering at Salon Khouri. Photo by Aliyah Dastour of Alimond Photography.

We love our clients and our community. If you ever have feedback on our salon or our blog posts, please always let us know.

Warmly,

Jennifer Elkhouri
co-owner, Salon Khouri

Have a heart for HART

Our January community effort is to raise money and awareness for a wonderful organization called Homeless Animal Rescue Team (HART). We adopted our dog, Bogart, from this organization in 2000. Our experience with them was amazing. The care they put forth for ensuring Bogart was going to a good home was impressive. We hope that we can help this organization out through our salon’s community giving project. Take a moment to browse their website. Who knows, maybe you will find a Bogart to adopt for your family!

Furry friends rescued by HART

Furry friends rescued by HART

For the month of January, we will be taking donations at the salon for HART. We will also be donating 10% from the purchase of all Jennifer’s Silpada sales as well as 10% from the purchase of all Wella products to HART. To purchase a piece of handcrafted, .925 sterling silver Silpada jewelry for this fundraiser, visit Jennifer’s site and be sure to select Homeless Animal Rescue Team as the hostess at checkout.

Help Us Help Danny and Eileen

Eileen and Danny are a wonderfully sweet couple. They work hard, they treat people nicely. They had a nice home, and if you told them this past summer that it would be destroyed by one of the most devastating hurricanes to hit the Northeast in over 100 years, they would have laughed and thought you were crazy or drunk … or perhaps crazy and drunk.

Danny and Eileen's Home After SandyBut Hurricane Sandy did come, and she took their home – their entire home, and all of their possessions. Danny was recovering from back surgery at the time. We heard about Danny and Eileen from a friend, Tricia. She told us that she had called to check on her longtime friend after the hurricane and Eileen had explained that they lost everything. Eileen had been on the phone at the time of Tricia’s call, arguing with the insurance company over whether or not the contents of the inside of their home were covered.

That’s when we decided to adopt Danny and Eileen for our December community giving effort at Salon Khouri. It’s our goal to collect money to purchase Lowe’s gift cards for the couple so that they can purchase new appliances for their home once it’s rebuilt.

Let’s help Danny and Eileen out. Let’s help them rebuild their home. Help us show them what big hearts our clients have! We will be helping too. Throughout the month of December, we will be having various promotions to raise money for Danny and Eileen. In addition to the promotions, if you bring a Lowe’s gift card to the salon, we will take $5 off your appointment for gift card donations under $50 and $10 off your appointment for gift card donations over $50.

Laid Off? We’re Here to Help.

Being laid off can make you feel like you’ve been kicked in the gut. It’s personal. And it can oftentimes shake our confidence.

Like it or not, studies have shown that appearance does matter, especially when it comes to landing a job. A study by Beth Winfrey Freeburg Ph.D. and Sally E. Arnett Ph.D showed that “prospective employers‘ and interviewee‘s determination of job fit in part are based on appearance.” The same study references over twenty-five  articles and studies that confer their findings. An article in Elle titled, Is Your Hair Holding You Back, reminded us of the line in the ubiquitous film Working Girl where Tess takes a pair of scissors to her ultra long locks and mile-high bangs, lops them off with one fell swoop announcing, “You wanna be taken seriously, you need serious hair.”

So, we’d like to help. Now through December, if you have been laid off and are currently looking for work, we would like to offer you complimentary hair makeover with one of our fabulous stylists, Kelly Stoneberger. We simply ask that you email us your resume as payment. We will post your resume on our Facebook page in the hopes that one of our fans can help.

We believe, and I mean we truly believe, that looking good boosts confidence. And confidence, along with some solid interview preparation techniques, will help you land your next job.