Ellie's Hats

August 28, 2020  by

Our September Community Outreach Partner Just Hit This Amazing Milestone!

If you have been with us at Salon Khouri for some time you will recognize Ellie’s Hats, a nonprofit founded to brighten the day of children with cancer through donating not just hats but other items to children and their families. We chose Ellie’s Hats once again as our local non-profit community outreach partner for September 2020 and we will be donating $1 from every haircut to this amazing organization. 

In 2019, Ellie’s Hats launched an initiative, partnering with Pediatric Specialists of Virginia (PSV), to identify five local families in need of financial support each month, and to donate $1,000 to those families. On Wednesday, July 29, 2020, Ellie’s Hats delivered five checks, pushing the organization’s total donations to a $100,000 milestone! 

In the words of founder, Jay Coakley, “More than anything, this [milestone] is a reflection of what is possible when we all come together to support a greater cause.” Dr. Christopher Lawlor, PSV Philanthropy Chair and Medical Director of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, added, “Ellie’s Hats keeps our kids and their families covered, from the hats on their heads to the financial support in their homes. We are appreciative of their support. Ellie’s Hats understands the financial impact childhood cancer can have on families. They are always there with support.”  

Ellie’s Hats was founded as a 501 (c)(3) in 2014 after Ellie started kindergarten at the Woodburn Elementary School in Falls Church, Virginia. Ellie was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in spring 2013. By the time she entered kindergarten she had lost most of her hair and was always wearing hats to school. 

Her teacher, Jay Coakley, noticed she had an affinity for ‘fun and cheery hats.’ He organized a hat drive to provide her with a broader selection of hats to wear and thus Ellie’s Hats was born. 

Please take a moment to visit the Ellie’s Hats website to see how you may be able to help.

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February 1, 2018  by

More Than Just a Hat! Our February Community Outreach Partner

We just adore this photo posted to the Ellie’s Hats blog recently of sweet little Cash, having a blast in an Ellie’s Hats tote. They dubbed it, “Cash in a bag!”

Sweet Cash in an Ellie's Hats Bag

Cash and his family were recent recipients of an Ellie’s Hats care package that included a bag, hats (of course!), a tee shirt, bracelets, and a gas card. Cash’s mom sent a sweet thank you to Ellie’s Hats:

“We received your package and are so overwhelmed by your kindness. Thank you so much for the sweet hats for all our kids, the bracelets, the shirt, the ribbon pin, the amazing bag and the gas card. Cash and his siblings were so excited when they opened the box. It brought tears to mine and my husband’s eyes. We are so very grateful and feel so blessed to receive such a loving and caring package for our family. Thank you again….so much.”

We love what Ellie’s Hats is doing for local children battling cancer. What they do really is ‘More than just a hat.’ In fact, last year, Ellie’s Hats donated $20,000 in total Pediatric Oncology Family Support Fund at INOVA Children’s Hospital and Novant Hemby Children’s Hospital, coordinated Family Dinner Nights and have brought smiles to thousands of faces across the nation by sending handmade hats to children battling cancer.

We are proud to once again partner with Ellie’s Hats this February by donating $1 from every haircut in February from both our Fairfax and Dulles locations to Ellie’s Hats.

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February 4, 2017  by

Ellie’s Hats: Our February Community Outreach Partner

Ellie's HatsEllie’s Hats is a Northern Virginia Non-Profit who seeks to bring joy and help to local families whose children are battling cancer. Ellie’s Hats was inspired by a sweet NoVa girl, Ellie Whitfield, who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in the Spring of 2013. After losing her hair from chemotherapy, Ellie began to wear different fun hats to school to help express her personality. Her P.E. teacher, Jay Coakley, noticed her affinity for “fun and cheery hats” and organized a hat drive to provide Ellie with a broader selection of hats to wear – and thus was born Ellie’s Hats! Thousands of children across the country now receive new hats through Ellie’s Hats.

In addition to providing joy to kids battling cancer by providing unique, fun hats, Ellie’s Hats collects gift cards and other items to give to local families whose children are battling cancer. Also, in 2014, Ellie’s Hats worked closely with Team Mathias to introduce a Cure Childhood Cancer License Plate in honor of Mathias Giordano to help spread awareness about childhood cancers. Mathias, diagnosed in 2012 with Osteosarcoma, inspired thousands through his determined cheer, his powerful courage and his extreme kindness. Mathias passed after a 28 month battle in December 2014.

We are so honored to partner with Ellie’s Hats by selecting them again as our February Community Outreach Partner. We will be donating $1 from every haircut this February to this amazing, local non-profit. Also, you too can help Ellie’s Hats directly by going to their upcoming fundraiser on March 10th at Blackfinn Ameripub in Ashburn.

ElliesHatsHappyHour

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December 1, 2016  by

Epic inspiration from a boy named Mathias

by Jennifer Elkhouri

mathiasIf you want to see love, and I mean real love, just take a few minutes to scroll through photos on the Team Mathias Facebook page. I will warn you — there is such beautiful love displayed in these photos that you will be overwhelmed.

Mathias exuded love. Through his smile. Through his heart for others. Even while he himself was battling osteosarcoma, he was always thinking of how to help others and to put others before him. Selfless love.

You will see photos of Mathias’ brother, Troy, and Mathias’ mom and dad, Roya and Chris. And in those photos, you will see the tremendous love they have for each other and Mathias.

In other photos, you will see teams of people jumping into ice cold water for Mathias; hundreds gathering in a field to create a gigantic human yellow-gold ribbon for Mathias, and you will see many photos of breathtaking sunsets shot days after Mathias passed when the evening sky displayed colors that only seem possible in dreams. You will indeed see beautiful displays of love from Mathias, from his family, and from the community that surrounded him during his battle with cancer.

childhood_cancer_plate32You will also see lots of photos scattered throughout of Cure Childhood Cancer license plates — a plate that didn’t exist in Virginia prior to 2015. Mathias wanted so badly to spread awareness about Childhood Cancer and his passion inspired the ‘Mathias Bill’, or HB1319, which created a Cure Childhood Cancer specialty license plate available in Virginia. (Other states are following and creating specialty Childhood Cancer Plates! #Epic!) Roya worked with Jay Coakley of Ellie’s Hats, and Del. Tag Greason (R-32nd), to create the bill in honor of Mathias after Roya learned there was no specialty plate in Virginia for childhood cancer. Upon telling Mathias that there was no specialty plate to spread awareness about the disease he and many other children were battling, Mathias replied, “That can’t be right. Everyone knows what the pink ribbon stands for. We have to get the gold out there, Mom.” Our cars proudly display CC plates and we would love to honor Mathias by asking you to apply for a specialty Cure Childhood Cancer plate for your cars through the DMV. Let’s make the yellow gold ribbon as ubiquitous as the pink ribbon in honor of Mathias and other precious children who have lost their battle to cancer.

Mathias passed on December 7, 2014. I had never met him, but had been following his story on Facebook as our family prayed for him daily. We did little things from afar to support Mathias. I asked our kids if they would like to be a part of the giant gold ribbon mathiasribbongathering in to support Mathias — it was something we felt we could do to show our support and love for him. There was just something about Mathias that grabbed my heart. A lot of these kids do, but Mathias really drew me in. He was the kind of boy I wanted our son to grow to be – kind, loving, trusting in God, and with an excellent sense of humor to boot! Our family was devastated when he passed. I attended Mathias’ funeral and sat next to a group of young girls about Mathias’ age. I wept with them and shared my tissues. My heart was broken to pieces for Mathias’ family — for such a heavy and hard loss. It’s almost been two years and I still think of Mathias almost daily. I smile with joy when I see photos of Mathias. Our littlest yells out, “Mathias!” anytime she spots a Team Mathias bumper sticker, shirt or a CC license plate. I wave at drivers who have CC plates and smile, thinking of what an inspiration Mathias continues to be to so many.

This December, Salon Khouri is donating $1 from every haircut from both our Fairfax and Dulles Landing locations to Team Mathias. Additionally, we are collecting gift cards to donate to Team Mathias for Team Mathias Care Packages. Mathias wanted to create care packages for families of children battling cancer. He especially wanted siblings included! Gift cards from Bed Bath and Beyond, Target, Itunes, and Amazon are perfect for these Care Packages. And, for each gift card you bring to Salon Khouri for donation to a Team Mathias Care Package, we will enter you into a drawing to win a $50 Salon Khouri Gift Certificate as our way of saying thank you. Also, if you have a Cure Childhood Cancer plate, post a photo to our Facebook page to be entered into a drawing to win a customized Kevin Murphy Treat.Me hair treatment and blow dry!

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February 2, 2016  by

Ellie’s Hats: Inspired by a spunky red-head … what’s not to love about that?

Ellie’s Hats is a Northern Virginia Non-Profit who seeks to bring joy and help to local families whose children are battling cancer. Ellie’s Hats was inspired by a sweet NoVa girl, Ellie Whitfield, who was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in the Spring of 2013. After losing her hair from chemotherapy, Ellie began to wear different fun hats to school to help express her personality. Her P.E. teacher, Jay Coakley, noticed her affinity for “fun and cheery hats” and organized a hat drive to provide Ellie with a broader selection of hats to wear – and thus was born Ellie’s Hats! Thousands of children across the country now receive new hats through Ellie’s Hats.

In addition to providing joy to kids battling cancer by providing unique, fun hats, Ellie’s Hats collects gift cards and other items to give to local families whose children are battling cancer. Also, in 2014, Ellie’s Hats worked closely with Team Mathias to introduce a Cure Childhood Cancer License Plate in honor of Mathias Giordano to help spread awareness about childhood cancers. Mathias, diagnosed in 2012 with Osteosarcoma, inspired thousands through his determined cheer, his powerful courage and his extreme kindness. Mathias passed after a 28 month battle in December 2014.

Ellie's Hats

This February, Salon Khouri will be donating $1 from every haircut from both our locations to Ellie’s Hats. Please take a moment to learn more about this wonderful organization. Please visit their website to see how you can help by knitting a hat or donating to this local, Northern Virginia non-profit.

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