Gisele Guerrero at Haircuts for HOPE. Photo by Jacqueline Guerrero
Today Gisele Guerrero of Gisele’s Salon in Larchmont and other volunteers provided free haircuts, personal care items, and a hot lunch to clients of HOPE Community Services in New Rochelle. Clients were also supplied with hats, gloves, scarves, and other clothing.
Inspired to help the less fortunate during the holidays, Gisele initiated the Haircuts for Hope project. The project goal is to help members of the “invisible poor” take better care of their daily personal health needs, and to help them look and feel better about themselves.
From 26 clients served at the first session in April 2009, the initiative has continued to grow. At the last session on Monday, September 10th, 64 clients received haircuts and 80 person care bags were given out.
Gisele’s team donates time, skill, care items, and other resources because they believe in the power of community action to help those in need. Gisele believes that we are all connected to each other, and can make a positive difference in reducing the burdens of poverty and enhancing human dignity if we pool our resources creatively and with determination. As hairstylists, artists, writers, health care professionals, mothers, students, restaurateurs, educators, and corporate executives, they donate their time and skills because this kind of giving is the right thing to do in these hard times, and because they want to bring joy and dignity to our less fortunate neighbors.
Gisele would like to thank Moni Kaneti, Director of Mamaroneck High School, Future Business Leaders of America, along with his friends, Eric and Chris, for the time they put into putting the person care bags together.
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