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People Cut It Off for a Good Cause
"My hair’s off and my heart’s out."
That was one of the many messages written on a roll of newsprint at the Meriden Independent Club Sunday. The club, at 66 Crown St., hosted the 9/11 Freedom Cut where for $20, patrons could get a cut, massage, or nail polish change. The roll was to be sent to New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
The cut-athon was organized by the staff at Kelli’s A Salon in order to raise funds for the United Way’s September 11th Fund. The staff put the event together in about five days, getting 30 hairdressers and bar-bers from nine local salons to help. In end they raised $3,644.
"Everyone is such in a need to do something," Moore said. "Whatever we can do is great."
Kelli’s employee Nate Bottone let one of Kelli’s stylists shave off his hi-lighted, spiky hair if people pitched in an additional $70. That amount soon became $90 as a crowd gathered to watch.
"It’s a good cause and it helps make everyone motivated," he said.
It was a difficult task for Kelli’s stylist Aimee Correa, who grimaced as she buzzed off his locks. Though he was afraid to look in the mirror afterward, Bottone later reasoned, "it grows quickly."
"I was shaking as I was first clipping his hair," Correa said.
Catherine and Co. owner Catherine Billings brought her nail technician and a massage table to add something extra to the fundraiser. Many members of Billings’ staff sported flags on their nails.
"When Kelli’s called me and asked I said absolutely," Billings said. "It was perfect."
Mule Security Systems owner Bob Mule saw one of the fliers and wanted to find a way to help. Office manager Jayne Huebner decided to provide lunch for the stylists.
"It’s really a small part," Huebner said. "It’s just something to feel useful."
"Everyone wants to make a difference," Moore said.
For those who came to get their hair cut, it was an easy way to help the rescue workers in New York. Brian Moore said attending the cut-athon was a way to help a good cause. Many others agreed.
Maryann Ste. Marie insisted her husband needed a haircut, Paul Ste. Marie joked. Maryann Ste. Marie is a regular Kelli’s customer.
Even though West Johnson, 10, didn’t enjoy haircuts, he wanted to help, West’s mother Suzan Birt said. The cut-a-thon brought togetherness to the community, she said.
"I wanted to help out with whatever I could," Gloria Crane said. "It’s nice that they’re all together to help out."
"More than money came out of this," said Shirley Sasso, a stylist at Catherine and Co. "The biggest thing of all was the camaraderie."
The following salons participated in the cut-a-thon: Kelli’s, Village Styles, Haircraft Family Haircutters, Cutt-Loose, Classic Hair Design, Special Fx, Noreen’s Hair Fashions, Catherine and Co., and Ret’s Place Barber and Styling Shop.
Record-Journal
Monday, September 24, 2001
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