Hair For Child Care, Help Kids' Medical Care

On Sunday, April 29 more than 70 salons throughout Massachusetts, including a Waltham place, will participate in Boston Children's Hospital's annual HAIRraising event. 

For the third year in a row, participating salons will provide customers with a stylish haircut for a $40 donation to Children's Hospital.  In Waltham, Salon Astante is participating. 

“Salon Astante is thrilled to participate in HAIRraising for the first time this year to support Children’s Hospital Boston,” co-owners Katie Astone and Gina Galante Skillings said in a press released posted on Waltham Patch. “It’s amazing to bring together the top names in Boston’s hair industry to support one of the nation’s top pediatric care and research organizations.”

In the past, the HAIRraising for Children’s Hospital Boston event has raised more than $200,000 and organizers hope to raise another $100,000 this year according to Janet Gilfeather, coordinator Cause Marketing & Sponsorship at Children’s Hospital Trust.

“This has become a great program,” Gilfeather said. “The first year was getting all the salons on board. It was great to see the big support from big names on Newbury Street and the interest spread out into the suburbs. They really went above and beyond.

in Northboro, was last year's top earner with $11,000, while the average for other saleons was $1,500 to $2,000.

The HAIRraising program was founded by celebrity hairstylist John Frieda and Gail Federici two years ago after Federici’s daughter required extensive open-heart surgery and received treatment at Children’s Hospital Boston. The event first benefitted the Great Orman Street Hospital in London and has since come to the United States.

Haley Goff, marketing director at Dellaria Salons and Spas said all 25 of their studios in the Boston area will participate.

“This is a very compassionate field where you develop close relationships with the clients. We were given a list of how many patients live in each town with one of our salons in it. The numbers were amazing," Goff said. 

All proceeds go to The Children’s Fund. To learn more, visit www.hairraisng4chb.com.