Hair Aid 2020 Cut a Thon

International hairdressers are banding together to take part in the inaugural Hair Aid Global Cut-A-Thon that will be held in communities, towns, and cities across the globe. Hairdressers across Australia (and the world) will be participating on Sunday, March 29. With the impact of COVID-19 we will be postponing the Cut a Thon, but we will still be accepting donations for this important cuase. In Brooklyn, New York, Michaella Blissett-Williams and her [salon]718 team are ready to roll up their sleeves and cut-up for a great cause! Setting the perfect scene for a day of community efforts, they will host their Cut-A-Thon at the salon’s newest location, 60 Furman Street in Dumbo at Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Hair Aid founder and Brisbane local, Selina Tomasich said the goal of the Cut A Thon is to gather the passion of the hairdressing community and bring salons together to raise money to help support the work Hair Aid does. There are over 140 hairdressers and salons across the globe taking part. Anchoring their initiatives, [salon]718 Owner and CEO Michaella didn’t stop there. She has set out to dedicate the entire month of March to Hair Aid’s cause while honoring Women’s History month with some exciting ways to generate donations and keep the party going!

Joined together on a recent podcast hosted by Phorest software to discuss the importance of community participation and the climate of devastation across these countries, Michaella touches on the impact we have within our industry to do the work that will carry our legacy. Putting it perfectly into words and a mantra we could all live by, Michaella states “As hairdressers, we have the ability to touch and change lives every day, but with Hair Aid, we have the ability to touch and change lives for generations.”

Hair Aid sends teams of volunteer hairdressers, from all around the world, to overseas locations to provide free haircutting training for people living in critical poverty. These teams work directly with people living on the street, or slum communities, or with ladies rescued from the sex trade and prostitution gangs teaching a five-day course of five basic haircuts. This skill can then be used to start a micro-business and create an income to support themselves and their family. We do this work in the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, and Cambodia,” Selina said. “The 2020 Cut-A-Thon will be a Guinness World Record attempt for most money raised for charity in 24 hours by
haircuts” says Selina.

Salons and independent hairdressers around the world will be raising money at any time during this period for Hair Aid. The cutting period will commence at 8.00am (EST) on Sunday 29 March in Brisbane, Australia and run for 24 hours. Selina states “We’ve also got salons and independent hairdressers around the world cutting based to raise vital funds and help us continue providing a pathway out of poverty for these women and their families, through the skill of hairdressing.”

No stranger to international and community building, [salon]718 CEO, Michaella’s strong belief in “servant leadership” is the basis in which she runs her business. When first announced at her last team meeting of 2019 that the salon would be partnering with Hair Aid to host a Cut-A-Thon and participate in global fundraisers and education, “not one hand went un-raised” said Michaella when the team was asked who is interested in participating. “This is why I do it” says Michaella. The opportunity to impact the lives of so many that may not have otherwise been afforded the chance will forever be a driving factor for my business and representation to my team of the culture and values that we live by at [salon]718.