Mondays at Racine

When your life is at stake, why is losing your hair so hard?

Every third Monday of the month, two bold, brassy sisters open the doors of their Long Island hair salon to women diagnosed with cancer. As locks of hair fall to the floor, women gossip, giggle, weep, face their fears, and discover unexpected beauty.

Major changes to health, or quality of life, can challenge the way we feel about ourselves. Karla Waldron is using her health salon to celebrate the beauty of women diagnosed with cancer, with Mondays at Racine.

Traditionally, the medical profession’s treatment of cancer doesn’t include the emotional changes that accompany the physical. Karla and her husband saw the effect the disease was having in their city, and decided something had to be done. They took action by offering free beauty services at their spa, on the third Monday of every month, for all patients undergoing treatment. With this social source of solace and support, many clients have received a surge of inner strength, and renewed sense of beauty.

Mondays at Racine has been going strong for over a decade. It’s still free of charge, and currently, held every Monday. Karla’s community has jumped in to help support her mission, with donations and volunteers appearing over the years. In order to ensure the salon’s doors can remain open, the AWB grant will be used to meet the growing costs of required products.

Learn more about how Mondays at Racine is impacting lives by visiting here. To see the salon in action, don’t miss the touching trailer to their award-winning film on Vimeo.