Along with the rest of New York City, Christie & Co. Salon of Bayside is giving a helping hand to those who have been affected by Sandy.
Christie & Co., in The Bay Terrace shopping center, has become a local drop-off site for donations, which will help the families of Rockaway and Breezy Point.
“So many people have brought so much stuff. We’ve gotten canned food, socks, shoes, pants, jackets and blankets,” said volunteer Adriana Kolanovic.
Lois Christie, owner of Christie & Co., has not just allowed her salon to be a donation site, but as the president of Intercoiffure America/Canada, an international salon owners association, she has emailed manufacturers to donate any kind of products to help.
In her letter, she requests donations of shampoos, conditioners, baby products and all other personal care products.
“My request went out globally,” said Christie. “We do business with several manufacturers. So I’ve reached out to all of them. We’ve gotten pallets of productions. We’ve had a tremendous response.”
Christie has turned one of her private massage rooms into a temporary donation space where two of her employees, Kolanovic and Lorraine Taglioni, volunteer their downtime during work to sort and box all the donations.
“[Volunteering has] been nice; it’s been fulfilling. When it’s not too busy and the phones aren’t ringing too much, we’re multitasking,” said Kolanovic.
After the donations have been sorted they are sent to an empty store Cord Meyer, the landlord of the shopping center, has donated for storage.
The donations have been picked up by Glen Oaks Volunteer Ambulance Corps in conjunction with Councilmember Mark Weprin’s office, along with Men on the Move, a moving and storage company.
“We’ve done a lot of deliveries for the storm,” said Angelina Martuscello, a manager at Men On the Move. “We’ll be moving donations as long as they need us to.”
Along with Men on the Move, Christie & Co. will continue their efforts to help those in need by accepting donations at the salon as long as there is still a need for them.
Christie said volunteers are needed to help sort. If you are interested in giving of your time, call 718-225-7766.
