The co- owner and operator of a Nanaimo area hair salon has joined the Nanoose Community Services team of volunteers, providing hair cutting and styling for clients free of charge.
Katrina Schulz and her mother, Valerie, have operated their business, VK Salon in Cedar, just south of Nanaimo, for 10 years. Throughout that time they have volunteered and donated to a number of regional charities. They have supported the Women’s Heart and Stroke Foundation, the burn unit at the Children’s hospital, RCMP sponsored fundraisers and provided hair styling services for patients at a local recovery centre.
Katrina and one of her stylists, Olivia Warburton, come to the St. Mary’s Church Hall when the church hold their Community Dinners. They don’t eat, however, they provide hair cutting and styling services to men, women and children supported by NCS, who often go without that luxury in order to cover their basic needs.
“I know what its like to struggle at times”, said Katrina. “I grew up in a home with a single mother who worked hard to make ends meet while raising three children”.
“If people are trying to get back on their feet for whatever reason…job loss, low self-esteem or they just want to better themselves, I’m very happy to support them in that. Everyone is the same, we all have a path and some can get lost along the way and need help from others to find their way back”.
“I was lost myself, for awhile”, she confided. “I got through it because of a caring family and community resources and the support of my mom”. She is grateful to a local family that took her in during a difficult time on detox and provided the care and attention she needed.
Katrina wants to continue to help out NCS clients every two months by offering free haircuts to those who can’t afford it. She and Olivia operate out of a small room in the church hall in the afternoon during community supper days.
“We volunteer and donate as much as we can in our own community and outside our community”, says the young master stylist. She was told about the work of NCS by a recent volunteer recruit, Sandra Lalonde of Nanoose Bay, who will be helping out with the organization’s education program.
Photo: Katrina Schulz (L) and Olivia Warburton