The Celeste-a-thon, the beauty-a-thon to help build funds for Celeste Corcoran, the hairstylist who lost her legs in the Boston Marathon bombing, wrapped up last night. The one day event was a great and emotional success.
It was a beautiful, pristine day in Boston which helped to make the fundraiser even more inspiring. More than 20 salons and stores in and around Newbury Street, the epicenter of beauty and fashion in Boston, participated with either cut a thons, raffles or special offers. All proceeds will go to the Celeste and Sydney Recovery Fund, the foundation designed to help Celeste and daughter Sydney who was also severly injured in the attack.
"Participation has been amazing," Marti Mercer, Salon Director, told me. "Both from a client and community standpoint." Hundreds of people turned out for cuts, blowouts, manicures, make up applications...and even discounted botox injections (courtesy Ruth Tedaldi, MD)! Thousands of dollars have been earned so far, although an exact number will not be available for another week.
There were so many highlights for everyone, including visiting celebrity stylists who flew in donate their time and talent to the cause. Brig Van Osten visited more than 9 participating salons and did some hair at Emerge, while Martino Cartier had a line up clients who came just to meet him. "It's all for a wonderful cause," he said.
"The biggest highlight for me was having Celeste come in and her reaction," adds Marti. "It was more than the appreciation. It was her reaction to all the hope, love and support from everyone. Celeste, her husband Kevin [Corcoran] and her family were in awe to see everyone come in. Everyone was so generous. It is keeping them going, but it's more than the money, its the wishes. It really hit home."
Check out these videos and pictures from the Celeste-a-thon. The longest video is FANTASTIC...it captures the arrival of Celeste to Emerge and the raw interview with WBZ, Boston tv. It was edited down for just a handful of sound bites for the TV show, but here is the total interview.
To learn more about all the participating salons and stores, and raffle participants, go to www.celeste-a-thon.com
For more information about the fund, or to donate, go to Celeste & Sydney Recovery Fund
For reprint and licensing requests for this article, Click here.
media brand