Pamela Kennedy’s most recent venture was a shear success.
The Halifax business owner held her first community outreach project at her Quinpool Road salon last week, updating the looks of 20 people who otherwise couldn’t or wouldn’t have visited a salon.
Kennedy partnered with reachAbility, an organization dedicated to assisting those living with various disabilities. ReachAbility provides its clients with employment programming, education, legal advice, and recreational opportunities.
The intent of the Aug. 23 initiative was to give a number of reachAbility clients a new look and increased confidence as they set off to reenter the workforce or return to school. Kennedy and her industry colleagues volunteered their services for the day.
“We wanted to give a salon experience to these 20 people with varying degrees of mental or emotional challenges. Some had anxiety disorders, others were more severely mentally challenged,” she explained. “You want to go to a job interview or start school feeling more confident with a little spring in your step.”
Appointments were scheduled to accommodate the guests of honour and the salon was shut down to paying clients for the day.
“We didn’t want it to be crazy busy for the people with severe anxieties and phobias,” Kennedy explained.
The volunteer initiative came about when a reachAbility employee getting a haircut at the salon talked about the organization and its mandate. The two sides brainstormed and came up with the idea of organizing the SHEAR Success cut-a-thon to benefit reachAbility clients.
“Doing this job for about 18 years, you see the difference you can make to a client’s day, but not everybody has that opportunity,” Kennedy said. “A lot of salons that are traditionally more affordable than us are not as luxurious or offer the same relaxing type of experience. Everybody deserves to have a little pampering, especially those who’ve been knocked down or don’t have the same support system like I have.”
ReachAbility also offers a DJ program to mentor youth, and Kennedy had young DJs spinning house music outside her front door once the clients left.
Kennedy, whose salon is called The Pamela Kennedy Project, said this is the first of many projects she has planned to give back to the community.
“We’re about getting people back to themselves. In the future we hope to partner with organizations like Phoenix House and Bryony House,” she said. “That’s where our heart is, giving people who really need it a leg up.”
For more information about reachAbility, visit www.reachability.org.
ydentremont@hfxnews.ca
