Donate your hair at biannual benefit for cancer
Submitted by Katrina Salon and Spa
Katrina Salon and Spa will hold its “Save The Date, Save Your Hair Cancer Community Awareness” from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. St. Patrick’s Day, Sunday, March 17, at 8 N. River St. in downtown Batavia.
This biannual benefit, organized in memory of Brian J. McGrath by his widow, Kathleen McGrath and family, is held in honor McGrath, whose battle with melanoma lasted for two years until his passing in 2005 at the age of 36.
The benefit is intended to bring community awareness to the loss of identity that one faces while battling cancer as they strive to maintain a normal life.
The St. Patrick’s Day family event provides an opportunity for individuals to donate their hair in support of charitable organizations who create wigs for cancer patients and to people with other medical conditions that cause permanent hair loss.
Additionally, funds raised during the event will benefit The Jack H Marston II Melanoma Fund to support melanoma awareness, survivorship and healing programming. More information can be found at www.jacksfund.org.
Attendees who donate their hair, which must be 8 to 10 inches in length, at the event will receive a free haircut by Katrina Salon stylists. Other activities and resources are planned for the event for those not able to donate hair. For more details and updates, visit the Facebook page for Katrina Salon and Spa.
“Brian was a longtime customer of mine and I saw personally the devastating toll cancer took on the McGrath family. We are honored to be a part of Brian’s fundraiser by doing what we love to do,” said Katrina Roitburd, owner of Katrina Salon and Spa.
McGrath was a Batavia resident who worked hard, loved baseball, and treasured spending time with friends and family. His struggle with cancer changed his outward appearance. Although he was physically transformed by his sickness and medical treatments, i.e. weight, hair and energy loss, he held firmly to living a normal life.
Cancer Community Awareness event partners include: Katrina Salon and Spa, Jack H. Marston II Melanoma Fund, Andrew Young Photography, Limestone Coffee & Tea, Enticing Cuisine, LivingWell Cancer Resource Center, Fox Valley Volunteer Hospice and Wellness House.