Staff of Legato Aveda Concept Salon in Farmington, Michigan
Staff of Legato Aveda Concept Salon in Farmington, Michigan
Team of volunteers from the Charles Penzone Salon.
Team of volunteers from the Charles Penzone Salon.
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Staff of Legato Aveda Concept Salon in Farmington, Michigan
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Staff of Legato Aveda Concept Salon in Farmington, Michigan
Team of volunteers from the Charles Penzone Salon.
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Team of volunteers from the Charles Penzone Salon.

What a salon or spa rallies around a cause and pledges support of time and money, it reveals its heart and soul. To prove their philanthropic initiatives were well-planned, we asked ST200 applicants to prepare a presentation to their community betterment association which explained how to organize a fundraiser, using their activities as examples. We asked them how they engaged their clients, their staff, the community and the media, and requested they reveal their results. Bonus points were awarded when salons could prove that their good works resulted in a boost to their business.

Ashka Salon & Spa    
Canton, MI
ashkasalonspa.com
Steven and Lisa Curry
SQUARE FEET: 4,300
TOTAL EMPLOYEES:  21
PRIMARY EVENT: Annual Give Back Week
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $45
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda
COLOR: Aveda
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz
“Our Give Back Week includes three ways to raise money for Goodwill Industries. First is our Beauty-A-Thon which offers an eyebrow wax, paraffin treatment or conditioning treatment for a $10 donation. Second, is a silent auction, and lastly 25 percent of revenues from massages, facials, pedicures, manicures and body treatments are donated.”

The Charles Penzone Salons
Powell, OH
charlespenzone.com
Debra and Charles Penzone
SQUARE FEET: 20,000/18,000/ 12,000/2,500/2,200/1,100
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 483
PRIMARY EVENT: Mother/Daughter Spa Day
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $50
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Alterna, Moroccanoil, Schwarzkopf
COLOR: Schwarzkopf, L’anza
TECH SUPPORT: RIO Grand by Softbrands, Exact Target, Bookwithus
ASSOCIATIONS: Intercoiffure, ISBN, NCA
“Our annual Mother/Daughter Spa Day, benefitting A Kid Again, is an evening where young girls with life-threatening diseases have the opportunity to spend quality time with their mothers and enjoy complimentary spa services, a make-up class and a catered meal. ”

DPZ on West & DPZ North
Danbury, CT
dawnspizzazz.com
Dawn M. Blom
SQUARE FEET: 3,000/1,100
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 45
PRIMARY EVENT: Golf Tournament, Fashion Shows
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $60
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Bumble and bumble, L’Oréal Professionnel, Oribe
COLOR: L’Oréal Professionnel
TECH SUPPORT: Hairmax, Demandforce
“To celebrate our 25th anniversary, we held The Heart of Beauty fashion show to benefit Healing Hearts bereavement center. A local jeweler donated a $2,000 diamond which was hidden in one of the glasses of champagne for sale. More than 500 tickets were sold for the event and we raised more than $64,000.”

Five Senses Spa and Salon
Peoria, IL
fivesensesspaandsalon.com
Paola Hinton
SQUARE FEET: 3,000
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 24
PRIMARY EVENT: Five Senses Charity Challenge
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $39
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda
COLOR: Aveda
TECH SUPPORT: Salon Iris, Demandforce
“We organized a Pay It Forward Charity Challenge where we selected five local charities, asked each to provide one family for us to pamper and through Facebook we encouraged people to give them posts of encouragement and support. The family that received the most posts earned a $500 donation for their charity.”

Gary Manuel Salon
Seattle, WA
garymanuel.com
Gary Howse and Manuel Benevich
SQUARE FEET: 6,400/2,300
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 87
PRIMARY EVENT: Earth Month Fundraiser, Life Long AIDS Alliance
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $82
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda, Davines, Moroccanoil
COLOR: Aveda, Davines
TECH SUPPORT: STX, Groupon, HeavenGroup
ASSOCIATIONS: NCA, PBA
“As a result of our efforts with Earth Month activities, we were named Puget Sound Business Journal’s Corporate Champion for the Environment in 2010. And, this year our co-founders Gary Howse and Manuel Benevich were honored with the Aveda Flower Award, which has only been bestowed five times in Aveda history.”

Legato Aveda Concept Salon & Spa

Farmington, MI
salonlegato.com
Diane Cassidy
SQUARE FEET: 3,500
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 15
PRIMARY EVENT: Alley Regalley
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $43
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda
COLOR: Aveda
TECH SUPPORT: Salon Pro, Constant Contact
“Not only did we cut hair for women and children in homeless shelters, we involved our clients in a fundraiser to donate a dollar and a Beanie Baby to a non-profit program that remembers children of incarcerated families. We raised more than $500 and donated more than 750 Beanie Babies in time for Christmas.”

Myra J A Salon
Defiance, OH
myrajasalon.com
Myra English
SQUARE FEET: 1,900
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 7
PRIMARY EVENT: Cut-A-Thon
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $32
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda
COLOR: Aveda
TECH SUPPORT: Milano
ASSOCIATION: NCA
“At the beginning of each year we decide as a group what events we want to be involved with. In June we had Relay for Life, in August we held a cut-a-thon to benefit children, and to round out the year we contributed to our local Neighbors in Need and Christmas for Kids.”

Salon Disegno
Lawrenceville, GA
salondisegno.com
David and Stacy Hodges
SQUARE FEET: 1,500
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 13
PRIMARY EVENT: Scholarships
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $48
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Redken, Pureology
COLOR: Redken
TECH SUPPORT: STX
“This year, we established a scholarship with our local technical school and it will be awarded yearly to a cosmetology student for the next five years. Applicants write essays on their passion for cosmetology, and our stylists read and chose the recipient of the scholarship.”

Salon Nouveau
Tucson, AZ
salondn.com
Kathy Alexander and Paul Lindsey
SQUARE FEET: 3,000
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 15
PRIMARY EVENT: Bags, Baubles & Ballgowns
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $47
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Eufora, Bumble and bumble, Joico
COLOR: Joico, Schwarzkopf
TECH SUPPORT: SalonBiz, Constant Contact
ASSOCIATION: PBA
“We currently are implementing a community-wide effort to train every salon professional in Tucson to recognize signs of domestic abuse and know how to refer clients to appropriate local resources. We are partnering with a local organization to create Affinity Speaker’s Beauty Plan for salons, and presented it to the local Eufora network of salons.”

Studio Montage
Great Falls, MT
studiomontage.net
DeeAnna Corn
SQUARE FEET: 4,500
TOTAL EMPLOYEES: 25
PRIMARY EVENT: Dirty Martinis for Clean Water
AVERAGE CUT & STYLE: $40
BEST-SELLING RETAIL: Aveda
COLOR: Aveda
TECH SUPPORT: Millennium, Demandforce
ASSOCIATIONS: Downtown Business Association, Chamber of Commerce
“One of our community outreach events is to seek out groups of unsung heroes in the community and give them $10 cards to our salon/spa and another to our boutique, no strings attached. Over the past two years, we have given every single teacher in our community one of these gifts and in November we will honor our community military base.”

Additional Honorees

Avalon Salon and Day Spa, Deer Park, IL
Bell Tower Salon, Medi-Spa and Store, Wyomissing, PA
The Circle Salon, Chicago, IL
Ginger Bay Salon & Day Spa, Kirkwood, MO
Hollywood Hair Salon and Spa, Centralia, IL
Ihloff Salon and Day Spa, Tulsa, OK
Impressions, Mequon, WI
The Loft Hair Design, Escondido, CA
New Identities Hair Studios of Tampa, Tampa, FL
Nurtur the Salon, Columbus, OH
Nuovo Salon Group, Sarasota, FL
Prodegy- A William Edge New Artist Salon, New Braunfels, TX
Pure Salon Spa, Louisville, KY
Source Salon, Wilton Manors, FL
Urban Eve, Lake Jackson, TX

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