“Joi of Summer” Raises Thousands to Benefit Nazzaro Community Center

On a rainy Wednesday night in July, over 100 patrons of the Joi Salon on Atlantic Ave. packed the salon (and the adjoining parking lot when the rain let up), to treat themselves to one of the services regularly offered there; hair styling, seated massages, polish changes and spray tanning to name a few.  The salon’s wide variety of beauty products were also on display for sale.  But what made this evening different than any other was the fact that owner Erica Harris and manager Jessica Chisholm had planned this night as a fundraiser for the Nazzaro Center, with 100% of the proceeds and 10% of the retail sales being donated to the center’s youth program!  Enticed not only by the quality services, professional expertise and charm of the staff, but also by some light fare and cocktails donated by local eateries and over 50 raffle items,  the visitors to the salon that night helped raise $2,900 for the community center!

“I was overwhelmed by the success of the event”, said Nazzaro Center director Carl Ameno.  “But I was even more overwhelmed by the commitment and generosity of everyone connected with the event, particularly Erica and Jessica.”   For their part, both Erica and Jessica said that when they were bouncing around the idea for a fundraiser to benefit a local non-profit, the Nazzaro Center’s name kept being brought up by the local clients of their salon.  “Almost everyone we asked suggested the Nazzaro Center”, said Jessica. A lot of them depended on one service or another that the center provided for their families.”  “And we felt this strong obligation to give something back to the community our business is located in’, added Erica.

A final word from director Ameno; “With the hundreds of businesses in the North End, very few pay more than lip service to the concept of community involvement.  Of the few that do, the Joi Salon is one of just a handful that puts their money where their mouth is.”