by Kirby Lindsay, posted 5 November 2012
On November 11th, a Sunday, Oohla’s Salon & Gallery will be open and cutting, coloring, styling, and basically making everyone feel better about their hair – and themselves. This is not standard-operating-procedure. Typically, Oohla’s doesn’t open on Sundays. The exception comes once a year – in November – when the stylists, receptionists and owner Stasia Angelou work a full day (10a – 4p) and donate all of the money to a charitable cause.
This year, for Charity Day, they’ve selected Neighborcare Health. “This is our seventh year,” explained Angelou, who launched ‘Charity Day’ shortly after she bought the salon. “It is our chance to make a difference,” she said recently, “because there is so much need.”
A Salute To Holiday Spirit
“We have a lot of clients who specifically book on Charity Day because they like to take part,” Angelou reported. Those who want to get their hair done at possibly Fremont’s most established hair salons, while helping fund patient care at Neighborcare Health, walk-ins might get in – if stylists have time available – but appointments can still be made at 206/547-6743.
The choice of November for Charity Day, Angelou acknowledged, has no strong significance. “It is a good way to kick-off the holiday season,” she acknowledged, but really it serves the desire Angelou and other staffers felt to aid others. “We always wanted to do something to give back,” Angelou reflected, “We are proud to have found some way to make a difference.”
“Every year has been different,” Angelou recalled. They don’t set a fundraising goal for Charity Day, and the amount they raise varies as it depends on the services clients ask for – and if clients choose to supplement the fees they are charged with a straight donation. The charges for service remain at the same rates as usual.
As Angelou explained, “if somebody wants to work here, they have to be comfortable in taking part in our Charity Day.” She acknowledged that a few applicants, over the years, did balk at the idea of giving up one Sunday a year to work ‘for free.’
So Much Need
Yet, “it’s a big part of who we are,” Angelou said. For Charity Day, the entire Oohla’s staff – including Angelou – selects the beneficiary charity together, with everyone given a chance to lobby. “Everyone who works here brings in an organization that they believe in,” Angelou described, “and everyone votes. It’s giving everyone equal opportunity.”
Angelou enjoys this process because it provides everyone with an opportunity to hear about charities they may not know, to find out about the passions/causes of their co-workers, and champion their own cause/passion. Two years ago, they selected Pasado’s Safe Haven. In 2011, the chose the Sunshine Kids as the beneficiary. One year the staff agreed to donate to a former employee fighting an (ultimately unsuccessful) battle with cancer.
This year, Neighborcare Health has been chosen, for its work providing health care to low income, uninsured families and individuals, particularly seniors on fixed incomes, immigrants and the homeless. Of the nearly 50,000 patients they treat each year, at 17 non-profit medical, dental and school-based clinics, 69% live at or below the federal poverty level, 31% are children, and 16% are homeless.
Neighborcare Health does ask that patients pay what they can, but they turn no one away due to an inability to pay. Thanks to partners and donors, like Oohla’s, they can offer medical and dental care, social work and counseling, OB and midwifery, health education and nutrition services. Find out more about Neighborcare Health on its website.
‘Amazing’ & ‘Charismatic’ People
While an accurate record cannot be found, it is most likely that Oohla’s started in 1990, at a location that no longer exists. The salon opened on Fremont Avenue North, near the current Fremont location of Blue C Sushi. Angelou has worked as stylist with the salon for 14 years, including during the time it relocated to N 35th St. Now, as owner, she employs four stylists, and three receptionists.
“My only goal has been for it to be a great place to work,” Angelou acknowledged, “and a great place to come into as a client.” As for her biggest success as an owner, Angelou decided on, “the great relationships that have been created among clients and co-workers.” Yet, there is so much more that gives her a sense of satisfaction. “Getting to be creative, and making people feel great,” fulfills her as a stylist, “Success to me is being happy to come to work, and working with people who feel the same.”
Ultimately, though, she believes the success, and Oohla’s solid reputation as a place of elegance and style, “I think that is directly a reflection of the amazing people we have working here, who take pride in their craft as well as taking seriously their passions outside.” Angelou wants to encourage her employees – who are also co-workers – to maintain rich lives beyond the confines of the salon. “They are very charismatic people,” she said, “that I am so fortunate to get to work with.”
“I’ve been coming to this neighborhood since I was a little kid,” Angelou explained, on her deep roots in Fremont. “I feel fortunate to be a part of this neighborhood. It is just a great spot in a great city.”
Fremont can feel mutually fortunate as Charity Day returns on the calendar, and Oohla’s proves that beauty and beneficence can be made equal partners in business.
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©2012 Kirby Lindsay. This column is protected by intellectual property laws, including U.S. copyright laws. Reproduction, adaptation or distribution without permission is prohibited.