A Commitment To Helping Others

I would like to share with my readers a very exciting moment in my life. I was recently awarded the Suzanne Pincus award from the WIN (Women in Need) organization for my dedication to helping families in homeless shelters.

What gratitude I feel for this recognition! However, I am even more grateful to families at WIN that have changed my life forever. They continuously show love and share their wisdom. Their stories are with me and for that, I will forever be changed.

A big thanks to all my donors who have supported my workshops, helping others in times of struggle. A special thanks to Orlando Pita and Orlo Salon for their continuos love and support!!

(Above standing with 2 amazing staff from WIN, Alyssa Montoya & Cierra Jordan.

Posted by Unknown at 7:12 PM - 0 comments

Lets All Celebrate The Beauty In Helping Each Other

Growing up in Trinidad, I was raised by a single mom. She did her best to get me to school and put a hot meal on the table. Because of this experience, I can say that I know the struggles that comes with the lack of a father figure and how difficult it is for one woman to hold a family together.

I am very excited to share with you my first workshop with single mothers in shelters. I hope to do this every three weeks. My goal is to first hand, work with women (and their children) through workshops. My approach is "beauty from the inside out," teaching them that individuality is a woman's strongest asset.

I will be providing education on their personal haircare, as well as preparing them for the work place. My aim is to also bring a high quality of hair services to these women who are facing struggles and may not have the funds to have their hair done.
 

But I need your help. I would love to give each person a gift bag of goodies. If anyone has access to any type of makeup, hair products, samples of skincare, new books, or anything you think could be added to the gift bag, please message me. You can even put the gift bags together and deliver them to the shelter and I will gladly give them out during the workshop. Or I will be very happy to collect them and disperse them myself.

I hope to make these sessions memorable and your help will bring smiles and faith to these ladies.

Remember, Individuality is a women's strongest asset. Together let's share with women and help them find their inner beauty.

Thanks and have a great day!!

Posted by Unknown at 1:32 PM - 0 comments

Lets Help Women In Need

I am very excited to share that next week a friend and I will be meeting a team at Women In Need to discuss how we can help. WIN, (WIN) provides housing, help and hope to New York City women and their families who are homeless and disadvantaged.

This is not about doing makeovers. It is about having a lasting impact from the inside out, as well as getting others involved and giving donations which include haircare, makeup and more.

I have already started receiving bags of supplies from my family at Orlo Salon. If you are interested or have questions, email me and lets lend a helping hand to the endless women in need.

Antonio Gonzales

Posted by Unknown at 8:17 AM - 0 comments

Together Lets Help Women In Need

So far being back in NYC has been about seeing old friends. I recently had dinner with a former-co-worker and we ran through our struggles, triumphs and goals over the past year. As we were talking about the hair industry she mentioned that she had liters of unopened shampoos and conditioners that she wanted to donate, but didn’t know where.

I quickly went online and found the perfect charity, Women in Need. Here’s a short description from their website.

“Women In Need  (WIN) provides housing, help and hope to New York City women and their families who are homeless and disadvantaged. Through comprehensive programs such as shelter, supportive permanent housing, job training, domestic violence services, alcohol and substance abuse treatment and childcare, WIN offers the tools and guidance which allow our families to return to their communities and live independently."

Music to my ears!!! My co-worker Rich and I jumped into his car and headed up to 31^st Street to Women in Need’s location to drop off the products. 

While there, I asked how I could help. I am excited to say that I am working towards conducting biweekly workshops, starting in East Harlem (hopefully). The workshops will focus on both inner beauty as well as beautiful hairstyles for job interviews and daily haircare. I will also be donating brand new shampoos and conditioners and other hair products donated by my family at Orlo salon as part of the workshop.

As each session will educate at least a dozen participants, I’m looking to build a team of hairstylists who are willing to donate their time to styling and cutting hair for these women. I am also looking for brand new beauty products to give to my ladies at WIN to help with their daily beauty regime.

If you would like to help me, please message me at comesse@comessenyc.com.  If you would like to give your time to WIN or donate in any way, here is all the information you will need to get started.

Women In Need, Inc.
115 West 31st Street, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10001
Telephone: 212.695.4758
Fax: 212.736.1649
Email: info@women-in-need.org

Love you all!! Antonio Gonzales

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