Charity Champions
Spa owner Audrey Brown is a self-proclaimed “huge fan” of the popular CBS-TV reality scavenger hunt game show, The Amazing Race. And the No. 1 cause she champions is education initiatives for young children.
So when the Chesapeake Health Investment Program (CHIPS), a non-profit organization that provides support and educational services to families of kids aged prenatal through 6, asked if her business could be a stop on an Amazing Race segment to benefit the charity, she raised them one. Not only did Natural Elements Spa & Salon in Chesapeake, Virginia, play host to the 48 teams of four that were scrambling to complete that local obstacle course on race day, but Brown rallied her staff to form a spa team to participate in the whirlwind scavenger scramble.
“It sounded like such a good, fun time, and for the best cause,” she says. “It just made perfect sense.”
While the team worked to raise money by publicizing the event to spa guests, they were meanwhile brainstorming ways to turn Natural Elements into a memorable leg of the obstacle race.
“We finally settled on giving teams a choice between waxing all the hair off of each other’s arms or painting each others’ fingernails,” Brown says. Somewhat surprisingly, more than half took the waxing challenge.
By the end of the race on June 5, the Natural Elements team had racked up the highest combination of challenge points, bonus points and funds raised. The town mayor and several other city officials greeted the winning spa folks at the finish line. They presented the Natural Elements team with their award and showed gracious support for the outstanding efforts of the CHIPS organization.
The huge trophy is now proudly displayed in the spa’s reception area. How does your spa participate in community events and show support for meaningful causes? Send your adventures to koreilly@creativeage.com. –Katie O’Reilly