The Story

Hi, I'm Kelly Strilcov. I own Salon PiZazz! in the Drawbridge District of downtown Port Huron, Michigan.

In 2007 our hair extension company informed me of their annual pink hair event to raise money for the National Breast Cancer Association.

I had been looking to do something to support breast cancer awareness since my sister was diagnosed years earlier, and this seemed like the perfect fit. I thought that maybe we would put in 50 extensions and raise $500.

To my surprise we put in just over 300, raising $3,000 for the cause.

That got me thinking... with a little organization and a bit more work, we might be able to do this ourselves and use all the money we raised to benefit our local women. So, in 2008 we set out to do just that. We were so excited that year when we raised over $5,000, and all the money got to stay right in our community, benefiting women we might actually know.

Well very soon the "might" part became very real to our entire staff when one of our receptionists and a great friend of mine, Cathy, was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Cathy has always been a bright light in the salon and it took us all back a bit. When October rolled around we were on fire to do everything we could to bring this fundraiser up a notch...and wow... what an understatement! Over 1,200 women (and a few men) were walking around with pink hair...raising over $12,000.

Now the problem. When we looked back at the month we knew there was no way possible to physically put in more pink hair the following year and have time to properly take care of the amazing clients who come to our salon. Several salons had contacted us that year to see if they could help. We realized, by enlisting the help of other area salons we could really make a difference...and did we ever...over $20,000 that went directly to benefit our area women, so if you are going to Wear Pink Hair this year, please visit an official Let's Wear Pink Hair salon...and help us help women like Cathy (by the way, Cathy is finished with her year long treatment, doing great and back to work at Salon PiZazz!) Thank you to all the salons, stylists and pink hair wearers who helped blanket the community in the warmth of pink hair!