DAYSPA is the magazine of spa management. Spa owners and spa managers turn to DAYSPA for spa management trends, spa management tips and more.
Issue link: https://dayspamagazine.epubxp.com/i/99723
WINNING WAYS Runway models personifiy beauty trends throughout history to support a hospice. Iconic Benevolence A Connecticut salon/spa fashions a runway into a thriving charitable vehicle. Most therapists, estheticians and stylists have had plenty of clients climb into the chair or onto the table and proceed to pour their hearts out. Dawn Blom and her salon/spa staff can relate. "People come to us to relax, rejuvenate and feel good, but sometimes in the process, they end up crying," says the founder and 26-year owner of Dawn's Pizzazz Artistic Group & Day Spa (dawnspizzazz.com), with locations in Danbury and Litchfield, Connecticut. Over the years, Blom's staff has referred many such clients to the Healing Heart program, a bereavement service offering group therapy at Regional Hospice and Home Care of Western Connecticut (regionalhospicect.org). "When we encounter a broken heart that could benefit, we're quick to supply that person with information about this program," Blom says. She is such a staunch believer in Healing Heart's services that last year, Blom and her staff took their 94 DAYSPA | JANUARY 2013 support a major step further by raising $63,000 for the local hospice via an innovative fashion show to commemorate the facility's 25th anniversary. To pull it off, the very resourceful Blom tapped the talents of her estheticians and stylists to present a runway bonanza showcasing beauty trends throughout history, and aptly titled the show, "The Heart of Beauty." The event was a smash success, drawing 450 people from the community and raising even greater awareness of the hospice's services. DAYSPA recently checked in with Blom to find out what made this fashion show such a hit. —Kevin Mathews DAYSPA: Aside from referring clients, did you have any personal connection to Regional Hospice? Blom: Yes, 10 years ago, my sister lost her husband. He was just 30 years old and left behind two young children. Therapy through Healing Heart was an