Beauty Industry Gives Back As Much As It Receives

Beauty Industry Gives Back As Much As It Receives

A Nobel Peace Prize recipient Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “you only need a heart full of grace; a soul generated by love.” The words convey his life philosophy about being grateful for the things you received from your neighbors.
In resonance, comes the news from the Korean-American beauty industry. From Cincinnati to New York to Texas, beauty supply insiders have notified us of recent contribution to the local community made to say thanks. We invite you to lend your ears to their voices coming out of a heart full of grace in the midst of various difficulties.

 

Sammy Beauty in Cincinnati decided to donate all proceeds from selling masks.

A donation box for $1 mask placed inside Sammy Beauty.

Sammy Beauty has a long history of good deeds. Hansam Kil, the owner of Sammy Beauty, has come up with a COVID-19 charity event instead of the usual sweepstake event, which had been held continuously to say thanks and pay back to the community but could not be held due to COVID-19. When the demand for facial masks increased in the beginning of the pandemic, he started to sell facial masks at the store to help people who were having a hard time finding them.
“In the early days, it was not only that people did not have the habit of wearing a mask but also people had a hard time finding one,” says Mr. Kil. In the beginning, he wanted to make them available for free. He continued, “after starting to sell facial masks, I thought I should donate the proceeds rather than keeping it.”
Sammy Beauty procures masks at a dollar a piece and sells them to customers at a dollar a piece. As a result, there is no profit for Sammy Beauty, and the entire proceeds for the masks will be donated to the community. Mr. Kil initially planned to donate the proceeds at the end of the year. However, in response to the explosive customer feedback to the event, he will soon name the charitable cause for the first donation and then continue the event until the end of the pandemic.
“The customer reaction was really good,” says Mr. Kil. “Some customers put money in the donation box without getting a mask.”

 

New York Korean-American Beauty Supply Association decided to donate $21,000 in masks.

President Dukmin Yoon and General Secretary Kilsung Kim of New York Korean-American Beauty Supply Association and Joanne Lee, a NY-based pharmacist, behind 6,000 surgical masks donated to Elmhurst Hospital NY.

In response to the coronavirus pandemic in March, the members of the New York Korean-American Beauty Supply Association and its president Dukmin Yoon decided to make a purchase of 30,000 masks through the association. As many people had difficulties procuring masks at the time of an astronomical increase in demands, the Association stepped in quickly to tackle the problem.
Among 30,000 masks, they donated first 6,000 to the doctors and nurses who would be in contact with COVID-19 patients on the front line. President Yoon says, “we started to think how to help the community and decided to donate the first-available masks to hospitals, and then this month, we donated another 6,000 to a Hispanic non-profit organization who had helped Korean community a lot.” President Yoon also revealed upcoming plans to “donate 6,000 masks to a non-profit organization for African American community in next month.”
They want to express their gratitude toward various communities and hospitals by providing much-needed masks.

 

“We need to make a contribution to African American community”—Jenny Beauty hosted a BLM T-shirts event.

Jenny Suh addresses the crowd showed up for a Free T-shirts event held in the parking lot in front of Jenny Beauty Supply.

Jenny Suh, who ran beauty supplies in Texas for 30 years, has the business management philosophy of keeping a great relationship with African American community. She started donating to churches and other non-profit organizations 25 years ago with an intention to give back to the community as much as she received. Continuing her good deeds, she planned a T-shirt give-away event in response to the recent Black Lives Matter protests.
She explained that she heard “there were many people looking to purchase Black Lives Matter T-shirts,” and she thought, “we can give away free customized T-shirts by ordering in bulk.” She stated, “so far we distributed about 4,700 shirts to the participants in the event among the 5,000 she ordered.”
At the event, local judges, lawyers, and comedians showed up in support.
“Their hourly rates are immense, but nonetheless they showed up in support without any compensation,” said Ms. Suh in gratitude.
Jenny Beauty spent about 40 to 50 thousand dollars for the event including the cost of free T-shirts, free masks, and hand sanitizers. She also mentioned her previous $20,000 donation to the African American community and stated that she would continue to make donations in the future.
“I always thought I should give back to African American community some of what my beauty supply received,” said Ms. Suh. “I will continue to make donations to African American community.”

 

Industry News BY BNB Magazine
BNB Magazine Sep 2020 ©bnbmag.com