Robyn Kelley says God has called her to serve others, which is why she holds an annual fundraiser that’s donated more than $100,000 to families of sick and injured children. This year will be during another pandemic. The effort and results will still be the same.
For more than 10 years, Kelley – owner of Trendz Salon located at 3670 Riverwatch Parkway in Martinez – has held a fundraiser called a cut-a-thon to raise money for these families. (Photo from above is from first event that helped the Asselin family)
The fundraiser is typically held on a Sunday and includes free haircuts, food, and face painting. As many as 140 people receive haircuts in a single day. Customers, community members, and salon employees donate money to support one family each year. “Checks are made out to the families,” she explains. Local businesses, such as Sparkle Car Wash, AR Workshop, and Monterrey Mexican Restaurant, also donate gift cards and items, which Trendz uses to create gift baskets valued at $350 each that they raffle off. “Every penny donated goes directly to the family,” Kelley states. “They can use it for whatever” they want, such as medical bills, personal expenses, or even a family vacation. Each year, the salon raises between $6,500 to $13,000.
The pandemic prevented Trendz from having a cut-a-thon for the first-time last year, but they still raised $7,870 for the family of Luca Raskin – a local 4-year-old boy who battled acute myeloid leukemia for several months before he passed away on May 20, 2021. Kelley’s employees made donations to send to Raskin’s family, and businesses and the local community stepped in to help. “Businesses have been so gracious, and so many people want to give,” Kelley explains. She also gives much of the credit to God. “He really showed up and showed out,” adds Kelley.
She’s known some of the families, but others she hasn’t. “When we pray about it, we just go where God leads us,” she says. For this year’s fundraiser, instead of holding a cut-a-thon, Kelley and her staff plan to raffle off gift baskets and accept as many donations as possible for the family of a 5-year-old boy named Mason, who is battling neuroblastoma – a type of cancer that develops in nerve cells in various parts of the body. She found out about him from her daughter, Kaylee, who also works at the salon. “We really need items” for the gift baskets, Kelley states. Trendz will collect items throughout September and October, and gift baskets will be ready Nov. 1. The drawing will be held Nov. 30. Tickets cost $1 for one ticket; $10 for 12 tickets; $20 for 25 tickets; and $100 for 125 tickets. To purchase tickets, stop by the salon, call 706-496-7629, or send them a message on Facebook.
Giving back to the community is the reason she opened Trendz in 2010. “I never wanted to be a business owner,” she says.