Staten Island hair salon, City Curl Studio, does kid makeovers as fundraiser for Sunrise Day Camp

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Amidst the snipping of scissors and the hum of hair dryers, City Curl Salon offers stylish makeovers just for kids every month on its “Kids Day.” Recently, the salon also raised thousands of dollars for kids with cancer and their siblings.

City Curl Studio dedicated its February “Kids Day” to raise money for Sunrise Day Camp-Staten Island, a free summer day camp for children with cancer and their siblings.

Sunrise offers swimming, arts and crafts and sports, all in a supportive and medically sound environment, empowering the children to have fun, make friends, and build confidence while dealing with the challenges of cancer.

“We truly have been so blessed with an amazing year, last year, meeting so many special children and wanted to give back,” said co-owner, Melissa Hernandez. “Our ‘Kids Day’ at the salon was filled with tons of children and their parents, learning how to care for their naturally curly hair.

“We donated all our fees that day to Sunrise, as well as the raffles, which totaled $4,000.”

Hernandez noted that her salon, which recently relocated to a new space in Urby at Navy Pier Court, cuts and colors curly hair while it’s dry and in its natural state to ensure seamless cut and color grow out.

“All our salon services come with a full customized tutorial and product recommendation so they can manage their curly hair at home,” she added.

GENEROUS DONORS

The fundraiser for Sunrise Day Camp - Staten Island was made possible by donations from local businesses, according to co-owner, Rachael Urricoall. These donors included: Seppe Restaurant, Don Cheech Restaurant, Pastavino Restaurant, Mark’s Bake Shop, The Grind Coffee Shop and Americano Cafe.

Also donating to the raffles were: Vicious Fitness, Sol Goddess Tanning, La Trinity Norie and Steph’s Creativity Corner in Tottenville, which donated time to come to the salon and make individual custom gifts for each child who participated.

“Guests were able to purchase raffles tickets from some of our favorite vendors,” said Hernandez. “This experience was truly heartwarming for us and we felt so blessed to be able to help out for a good cause.”

According to Hernandez and Urricoall, curly hair is unique, as it bends and coils, making it hard for natural oils — produced by the scalp to soften and protect strands — to travel the length of hair.

Therefore, special care is needed for curly hair because the strands can be fragile and delicate as a result of low levels of moisture. In essence, curly hair is thirsty hair.

City Curl is located at 23 Navy Pier Court and can be reached at (917)445-2017.