Community Corner
News Nearby: Dormont Salon Goes Pink For Breast Cancer Awareness
Sergio's Style will hold a charity cut-a-thon at the end of the month.
After taking over Sergio’s Style four years ago from his father, Sergio Pampena enjoyed an established and successful business, and wanted to give something back.
So the owner of the salon (located at 2891 West Liberty Avenue in Dormont) started thinking pink.
“80 percent of my clients are women,” he said. “And the other 20 percent who are men have wives, mothers, sisters, all of whom can be touched by breast cancer. I have one daughter and another on the way, by the time they grow up, I hope the threat of breast cancer is a thing of the past.”
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So at the end of September, Sergio painted the façade of his salon pink, to mark the 25th anniversary of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
“We are a Paul Mitchell salon, and all of the proceeds of Mitchell products sold this month will go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation,” Pampena said. “But the amount of support has exceeded our wildest expectations.”
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Westmoreland Supply in Bloomfield donated the pink paint. WPXI sports anchor Alby Oxenreiter picked up a brush and helped to paint salon. Other TV stations soon showed up to report the story. Then, Pampena began to get calls from other stylists offering their help.
“That’s when we decided to hold a cut-a-thon,” Pampena said.
Customers who come in on Sunday, Oct. 30 between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. will be charged $30 for either a cut, or a shampoo and blow dry. All of the money will go to the Komen foundation.
“It’s been wild the amount of support,” said Pampena. “We got an offer from a disc jockey who wants to play music, restaurants are offering food, we’ll have a Chinese auction that includes autographed memorabilia from the Pirates, Penn State Coach Joe Paterno, former Steeler Jerome Bettis, plus baskets of wine, liquor and other goodies.”
Pampena hopes the cut-a-thon will be an annual event, but his salon will not stay pink all year round.
“We will return it to its original colors of black and white after the cut-a-thon,” he said. “At least until next October.”
