Giving Hope: Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and salons and spas across the nation are wearing the color pink. Millennium Systems International had the pleasure of speaking with Tanya and Jennifer at JM Hair Gallery in Henderson, NV who shared how their salon is participating in Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Here is their story about how they are promoting awareness about early detection of breast and ovarian cancer in young women and joining in the fight against breast cancer.

What drove your salon to participate in Breast Cancer Awareness Month?

Simply the fact that we know and have friends that had breast cancer. I actually have a family member (my sister in law) who’s a breast cancer survivor. We aim to do anything we can to reach out and make a difference. We have guests that can relate as well.

That’s the main reason we decided to participate and do charity work while staying passionate about hair. It is part of our journey in helping others in need. Breast cancer awareness helps you connect with all effected women and their families. Anything that we can do to change their lives and make it better, that’s what we do.

What type of promotion(s) are you offering for Breast Cancer Awareness Month?

The first thing we’re doing is promoting Paul Mitchell’s ‘Bright Pink’ which promotes donations in the form of buying retail. Anything bought in the pink line qualifies, so we chose a few items this year for this event.This Saturday, October 17th, we are hosting an event where we offer complementary services to a breast cancer fighter or survivor. We will be taking people and performing services until the day is booked.

Is this the first year that you’re hosting this event? If not, what was your success rate in the previous years?

Last year, we did it for the first time. It was a really big success, it was awesome. We had a pink theme and we all wore pink and black. It was a really emotional and awesome day. It was a great day to give back to our community.We actually had one mom come in who still has breast cancer and was in the process of fighting it. We did hair and makeup on her and it was a very emotional moment because of how she spoke about herself.

The fact that we interacted with survivors who are still fighting breast cancer… literally changed all of our lives. Also, she’s a single mother of four children I believe, and raised them all by herself. She was in remission previously and the cancer came back. It was really emotional. It made you think about the power of giving back.

What strategy are you using to raise awareness for this event?

Social media and word of mouth. We use Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for social media, and we send an email blast. We also reach out to our guests and have them share our information on their Facebook or Instagram page as well. We have over 750 guests that come into our salon, so we figure the more people we pass the information to, the more they reach out to others and the bigger this will get.

What do you think is the most important statistic about breast cancer that people are not aware of?

I would say the cause of cancer. Now people are being diagnosed and finding that it is hereditary. Just the fact of reaching out to younger people to help make them aware and teach them that they have choices is important to us.

Is there anything else you want to tell the readers?

"It is our goal to be a blessing to others in Giving Hope on all levels. October 10th marks our 2nd anniversary with JM Hair Gallery. Last year we celebrated by having our first Breast Cancer event, it will continue to be the way we celebrate our anniversary. What better way, giving is the best gift!”

-Tonya Hallett and Jennifer McMillian, JM Hair Gallery

Is your salon taking advantage of Breast Cancer Awareness Month? It’s never too late to spread the word and give back to the community! For more photos and information, click here.