38 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • SEPTEMBER 30, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
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Christie & Co. Salon honors local Ronald McDonald House during ‘Day of Giving’
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@schnepsmedia.com
@jenna_bagcal
Christie & Co. Salon hosted a Day of
Giving event on Saturday, Sept. 25, to
commemorate the 35th anniversary of
a local branch of the Ronald McDonald
House Charities.
Th e charitable day included familyfriendly
fun like face and body painting,
raffl es and a live DJ, with proceeds going
toward the Ronald McDonald House
Charities New York Metro (RMHC
NYM), which helps sick children and
their families who seek lifesaving medical
care.
Christie & Co. Salon founder Lois
Christie started her working relationship
with RMHC NYM over three decades
ago. In the midst of recovering from the
damages of Hurricane Ida, Christie came
up with the idea for the Day of Giving.
“I’ve been with Ronald McDonald
House since I started my fi rst barbershop,
35 years ago,” Christie told QNS. “I decided
this would be a good way to start to
get everybody back to life again and we’ve
always supported local community charities,
Christie & Co. and the staff , but this
one’s a little close to my heart.”
Since its inception, the organization
has created and supported programs that
directly improve the health and wellbeing
of thousands of sick children
every year at the Ronald
McDonald House i n
New Hyde Park
and two Ronald McDonald
Family Rooms at Stony
Brook Children’s Hospital.
“When you see what the
families are going
through, it’s such a wonderful charity that
they make it as comfortable as it can be
for the families that need it, wherever they
come from and I just wanted to be a part
of that,” Christie said.
Christie’s business at 23-64 Bell Blvd.
was the only one open at Th e Bay Terrace
shopping center a day aft er Ida. Th e
owner said that they lost computers
and important fi les,
and they had to remodel
an entire fl oor. Despite the
challenges, she felt the need
to give back to her community.
“It’s just something I
believe in,” she said. “I think
it’s time we all start to support
each other again as businesses
continue to recover from
COVID. We’ve been here 50 years and
the clients have always supported us. We
don’t have big resources but we feel with
the smaller charities, it makes more of an
impact — it’s just what you gotta do. But
you have to want to do it.”
Th e Day of Giving was a kickoff for
the organization’s gala on Oct. 14, where
Christie will be an honoree.
“We are grateful to Lois and her entire
team, she’s just been so amazing. Th is
year’s gala is going to be like no other
because of what she’s bringing to the
event,” said Matthew Campo, CEO of
RMHC NY Metro. “She’s been super generous
in just her entire network and the
entire community to come out and support
the mission of RMHC.”
With additional reporting by Paul
Frangipane.
Ronald McDonald House Charities representatives dance to a DJ during the “Day of Giving” event.
The salon, celebrating its 50th anniversary, hosted the event for local families and children in need.
Patricia
Papataros
with Ronald
McDonald
House Charities
takes a selfi e
with Ronald
McDonald outside
Christie &
Co. Salon in
Bayside.
Photos by Paul Frangipane
From left: Patricia Papataros, Susan Angelaras, Shauntelle Dixon, Vincent DiRico, Phillip Sammut, Phillip E. Sammut, Lois Christie, Monica Santana,
Theresa Brucculeri and Jennifer Nicholson pose for a photo with Ronald McDonald during a ‘Day of Giving’ hosted by Christie & Co. Salon in Bay Terrace.
Christie celebrated the salon’s 50th anniversary by hosting the event to raise funds for local children and families in need.
Ronald McDonald House Charities off ered face and skin painting to raise funds for local children and
families in need during the “Day of Giving” event.
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