Salon raises record number of donations
This year, Studio 2 Salon raised record number of holiday donations, to go to both the Bayshore Fire District’s annual holiday party and gift drive and the The Women’s Abuse Center of Lee County.
“This is the sixth year we’ve worked with Bayshore Fire,” said coordinator Kennettee “Kenny” Lampman of Studio 2. “We started out small but have grown a lot in six years.”
“We are a small salon but we know people with big hearts,” said owner Theresa Auer. “We ask for things all year and store them at Kenny’s home. And we have work parties where we put things together.”
One of the highlights of the campaign is when firefighters come from Bayshore Fire to pick up the many gifts. This year, that included volunteer firefighters Geral Javier and Ed Cornish, along with Bayshore Fire Office Manager Theresa Sharp.
“They have been very generous every year, with gifts for not only children but also adults, so Santa can arrive by fire truck to distribute the many presents. Local parents can then have an opportunity to take photos with their kids and Santa at the truck,” said Sharp.
“Anytime we can help families out in need, especially around the holidays, that’s very important to us,” said Bayshore Fire District Chief Larry Nisbet. “Groups like Studio 2 allow us that opportunity. We couldn’t do this without their help. We actually start hearing about need around August. They are an extremely vital part of us being able to do this (the annual holiday party)”.
“Customers make this a tradition,” said Lampman. “We have the two main charities that we donate to through the year. The first one is Women’s Center, with donations all year with a big donation at Christmas time of new clothing, and then the Bayshore Fire Department at Christmas.”
She noted their amazing amounts of gifts raised this years, some double from last year.
For Bayshore Fire, they collected:
* 18-plus stuffed animals
* 75 coloring books and crayons
* 210 Christmas stuffed coffee mugs
* 100 pillows
* More than 100 storybooks
and multiples “still to be wrapped”.
For the Women’s Abuse Center, they collected:
* 341 pieces of new clothing
* 210 Christmas mugs filled with goodies
* 79 toiletry bags
and seven new purses
They partner with many local groups and friends, including “the amazing Razzle Dazzle Diva Red Hats.”
New this year are friends from Buccaneer Estates, Lake Arrowhead and the Trafalgar Elementary School in Cape Coral.
This year, Studio 2 also did a tremendous drive for victims of Hurricane Sandy.
“We did two truckloads for them,” said Lampman. On that project they partnered with Cape Coral’s Oasis Middle School. “We worked hard this year.”
Studio 2 is at 19001 N. Tamiami Trail # 2 in North Fort Myers. Hours are Tuesday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Wednesday through Saturday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The phone number is 567-0660. Their Web site is ourstudio2salon.com.