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September 19, 2008
For Immediate Release Beauty Industry Awards Grants to Hurricane-Affected Salons and Spa The Salon and Spa Relief Fund recently awarded more than $40,000 in individual and business grants to its applicants, and it is still accepting donations and applications. In response to the widespread devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the Salon and Spa Relief Fund, a non-profit organization, was created to help salon and spa owners and their employees who were affected by the hurricanes. Donations collected by the organization are being used to help grant recipients rebuild their lives and their businesses. Numerous businesses, as well as individuals, have donated to the fund. Already, Aveda Corporation has committed more than $100,000 to the relief fund, and Neill Corporation, an Aveda distributor, has committed $20,000. Horst Rechelbacher, founder of Aveda and Intelligent Nutrients, has pledged his personal profits from his newest book to The Salon and Spa Relief Fund. In addition, Rechelbacher will also be making a personal donation to fund. Edwin H. Neill III, a member of The Salon and Spa Relief Fund's Board of Directors, thanked those individuals and businesses that provided donations to fund the organization's grant awards. Neill commented, "We are grateful that the Aveda network has made these grants possible. Those of us in the areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina appreciate their support." As a recent recipient of one of The Salon and Spa Relief Fund's business grants, Cut Loose Hair Studio is just one example of a salon in New Orleans that lost everything, including the majority of its clients. Kathy Rougelot, owner of Cut Loose Hair Studio, has been living in Lafayette, Louisiana, and is among many who considered not returning to New Orleans. Just last week, Rougelot re-opened her salon, though on a much smaller scale and in a different location in New Orleans. With much appreciation in her voice, Rougelot thanked The Salon and Spa Relief Fund and said the grant “was like a Christmas present to me.” Rougelot continued, “The grant award was a way of reopening and enabled me to take a step forward. It gave me a new beginning.” Judy Fisher, a front desk coordinator at a New Orleans salon and recipient of an individual grant, added, "I think it is absolutely wonderful that The Salon and Spa Relief Fund is helping everyone affected, especially so that we can stay in the same industry and with the same salons as they try to reopen. The grants are a tremendous help." To obtain more information about the organization, or to make a credit card donation online, please visit the relief fund's website at www.salonandsparelieffund.org . The Salon and Spa Relief Fund is a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, so donations to the organization are tax-deductible. Donations to this fund can be sent to: The Salon and Spa Relief Fund ###
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