Fund Enabling Suite Members to Support One Another Through Hardship Marks Five-Year Anniversary With Critical Outreach in Fort Myers and Naples

CARROLLTON, Texas, Nov. 11, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Thanks to MY SALON Suite’s Suite Relief Fund, beauty professionals impacted by Hurricane Ian received critical financial support as they face uncertainty and significant recovery from the recent storm that ravaged parts of Florida. MY SALON Suite, a co-working style space where salon professionals provide beauty services to their clients in private suites, offers its Members the opportunity to regularly contribute to The Suite Relief Fund, reserved for fellow Members facing natural disasters and other personal crises. Eighty-seven percent of the approximately 250 franchised locations have Members who give to Suite Relief.

In the wake of Hurricane Ian, those contributions enabled the company to distribute $30,000 among Members who applied for assistance, along with gift card donations from MY SALON Suite owners across the county. In a further show of support, some Members selflessly donated their own gift cards to a Member who lost her home while groups of Members actively volunteered in the days following the hurricane.

“While thankfully our physical locations in both Fort Myers and Naples were not significantly damaged, our Members and their families are facing life-changing devastation as a result of Hurricane Ian,” said Scot Cummin, Franchise Partner and owner of the two area MY SALON Suite locations. “The Suite Relief Fund has been a lifeline for these small business owners, one of whom lost her home and all facing various degrees of recovery in the months ahead.”

Erika Mccann, hair colorist and owner of E², a hair salon within the Fort Myers MY SALON Suite location, who lost her house in the hurricane, was extremely grateful for the support at such a difficult time: "I truly appreciate the generosity that the MY SALON Suite family has shown me!"

Marie Aglira, owner of Strandz of Beauty, located within MY SALON Suite in Naples, shared: “I’m sitting here with tears in my eyes with how touched I am from this all! No words can express how much my MY SALON Suite family means to me. In all my 37 years of hairdressing, I never worked with a more loving, caring, kind group of people.”

“The kindness I’ve experienced since joining you guys has been honestly really amazing,” added Andy Ramirez, owner of Diamond Cuttery Hair Artistry within the Fort Myers MY SALON Suite location. “I hope they know how thankful we are.”

“One of our core values at MY SALON Suite centers on the beauty of giving back particularly as we support our own community of Members throughout the country,” said Stacy Eley, brand president of Suite Management Franchising. “We are so thankful to our Members for their generosity that has enabled us to provide critical aid to our MY SALON Suite family in Fort Myers and Naples.”

When Hurricane Harvey struck several U.S. states in August 2017, Aaron Gillaspie, owner of several MY SALON Suite locations, felt compelled to support his Members in hard-hit Houston. Many of these Members and their families experienced flooding and power outages causing significant revenue loss for these small business owners.

The leadership team at Suite Management Franchising joined Gillaspie in quickly developing a tiered financial relief fund to provide immediate help to those in need, with a GoFundMe page raising more than $20,000. Once the aftermath of the storm settled, Gillaspie, amazed by the support, imagined the power of this type of giving on a large, sustainable scale.

“While we as a company can only do so much, we were struck by the potential for a membership-wide program that would offer the opportunity for our community to help each other when faced with life’s unexpected challenges,” said Gillaspie.

His idea became The Suite Relief Fund, which was formally established in 2018.

About MY SALON Suite

MY SALON Suite is a nationwide franchise of turnkey beauty salon suite studios that allows independent salon professionals to provide beauty services to their own respective clients. The co-working style space is the latest concept in the beauty services industry bringing together a collection of independent beauty professionals in one luxurious location. Founded in 2010, MY SALON Suite has since expanded to approximately 250 franchised locations across the U.S. and Canada.

MY SALON Suite has been recognized as a leading franchise opportunity by some of the most prestigious business lists, including the Entrepreneur Franchise 500 and the Inc. 5000. With industry-leading knowledge, operational processes and support services, MY SALON Suite helps franchise owners successfully build, open and manage upscale private salon suite facilities for highly qualified, established beauty service professionals, who are ready to make an investment in themselves and their professional success by running their own salon business.

For more information about MY SALON Suite, please visit: https://www.mysalonsuite.com/.

Contact: Karen Murray
T: 215-850-4645
Email: kmurray@powersbc.com