Hamilton Turns Out For - 'Cuts For Christchurch'

Immediately after the February earthquake, Jamie Dryden of Fabrik called other Hamilton salon owners to see if something could be done within the local industry to raise funds for the victims of the Christchurch earthquake.

Subsequently the owners of 5 Hamilton salons; Wayne of Ktizo, Brenda of Obsession, Dave of Morph, Steve and Brigette of Modo and Jamie of Fabrik met at ‘Chim Choo Ree’, a Hamilton restaurant, on Saturday 25 Feb to hatch a plan to raise money for Christchurch. It was decided the best charity to support was the Salvation Army and Red Cross as they are trusted and are at the coal face dealing with people with the greatest needs.

They all took on certain jobs to get the event together, meeting each Wednesday night at 8.30pm to discuss progress and take on the next task. Wayne threw out the name ‘Cuts for Christchurch’and it immediately became the title of the fundraiser. 

A public haircutting event, ideally in Centreplace  (Hamilton’s CBD Mall) was decided upon, as it would be something of interest to the public and provide a platform for our region to get together to collectively support Christchurch. After approaching Centreplace, to get the ball rolling, a few hours later they had a confirmed go-ahead, with a very special thanks to Tania and Kelly and their events team and thanks to Rodney Wayne and Just Cuts for graciously allowing them to operate in Centreplace. 

After extensively contacting salons in the region, over 60 hairdressers representing 16 salons took up the call to participate in Cuts for Christchurch. 
                                                                                             
The Participating Salons Were:
Azarni, Colours, Fabrik, Hairline, Hairphoria, Hillcrest Hair Design, Ktizo, Modo, Morph, NV, Obsession, Otto Inc, Paul Antony, Phillips Hair Company, Villagers & Winters.
 
Interestingly many paricipating hairdressers said they got more out of being there than they gave and how great it was to work together in a non-competitive environment. The contributions and support from the business community was tremendous. The  total expenses for the event was below $300 such was the generosity of the contributors: TIGI, L’Oreal, Redken, Matrix and Goldwell, all suppling complimentary product which was sold at bargain prices. 

Steve Graham from Modo said "As with any public event we were unsure up to the last minute whether we had done enough in particular with promoting the event. We started setting-up for the event at 9am for a 10am start. We got the hairdressers together in an adjacent room for a briefing at 9.45 am, and a few minutes into the meeting we were interrupted by Brigette telling us there was a long queue forming and that’s pretty much how the day went. Danielle Ritano from TIGI came along and spent the day working with us. Jane Hassall, the GM of Goldwell- KMS also came along to support and Images were there covering the event - a fantastic commitment and much appreciated”.

Jessica Jordan one of the customers on the day, was quoted in the Waikato Times. She said she thought the event was one of the greatest displays of unity she had seen since the Christchurch earthquake happened. 
"A lot of groups have done fundraising, but I don’t think I’ve seen a group of people in any profession pull together like this – Waikato hairdressers will get a great sense of pride from doing this,” said Jessica.

Cuts for Christchurch raised in excess of $10,000 with more contributions coming in from salon owners and staff following the event. 

Full List of contributors: Centreplace, Chim Choo Ree, BNZ, Eftco Ltd, ASB Bank, Quickprint, Waikato Times, Media Works, Radio Network, Images Magazine, New Zealand Printing Company, Waikato Business News.