As the holidays approach, Lisa Fiorentino, co-owner of the Hello Gorgeous! Salons with seven locations throughout New Jersey, sent us this story about some real-life salon angels:

Angel for the Day"In the true meaning of the hoiiday spirit, we recently received a call to one of our Hello Gorgeous! salons from a caller who wanted to purchase a gift card. However, this was no ordinary purchase and it was no ordinary caller. This was a wish that an Angel was granting. Now, if you don't believe in real-life angels, I beg to differ, and I think this story will prove it to you.

"The caller spoke about wanting to help someone who was brought to her attention through a website called WishUponAHero.com. This website is a place where people can go to make a wish, or to grant a wish. In this particular case, the wish was made by a 15-year-old girl whose family had fallen on some hard times. She was asking fhat her mom be pampered at a salon in return for all the caregiving she had given to the girl and her sibling.

"After reading the wish, our caller decided to buy a gift card to a nearby salon for the mother. Can you imagine? They two never had meant, and with no questions asked, the caller purchased a $500 gift card and asked that our salon representative get in touch with the daughter and make it happen. Wow!

"When I arrived to the office that morning and was told what had just happened, not only did I feel blessed to have been chosen as the salon to pamper this mother, but I felt the need to pay if forward. So, we at the salon decided to match the gift.

"That afternoon, when the mother was in the salon receiving her services, our Operations Manager Michael introduced himself and presented her with the gift cards. During their conversation, the guest explained that she had no idea that her daughter had done this. About a year ago, she and her family had moved from Kansas to New Jersey. Since then, her husband had passed away and whe found herself unemployed, trying to take care of herself and two teenaged girls. Needless to say, she was overwhelmed.

"Every year in our salons, we look for families in our community to help. Each salon sets up their 'adopted' family with everything they need from presnets to dinner and dessert. This is in lieu of a salon Pollyanna. As salon professionals, we are Daymakers. Having a website like Wishuponahero.com reminds us all what the season is about, and gives us all a chance to be real-life angels.

"Happy Holidays from Hello Georgeous! Salons!"

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Originally posted on Salon Today