Here is an letter from David Wagner, the founder of the Daymaker Movement. David is a former colleague of ours from the salon industry. Daymaking is a great thing to get involved in!
Fifth Annual “Daymaker Day” April 29, 2007
Hello fellow Daymakers,
Daymaker Day makes international observance of a shared day possible, and it poses the possibility that each day we remember to be Daymakers.
What is daymaker day?
At the end of my recent term as president of The Salon Association (TSA), Frederic Fekkai presented me with a gift on behalf of the board and members of TSA. They designated April 29th, my birthday, as DAYMAKER DAY. Thousands of Salons all over the United States and Canada have honored this day by engaging in gestures that make someone’s day.
The creative ideas that have come from salons all over North America have created an important and powerful force that has the ability to change the world. Some salons have visited homeless shelters, children’s hospitals, and military bases, to donate services such as haircuts, chair massages and more. Others have engaged in simple acts of kindness such as sending thank you notes to favorite clients. One salon hired a doorman to hand out roses to customers for the day. Many people outside of the beauty
industry have also adopted Daymaker day in their churches, schools, businesses, and families.
Here is a letter I received this week as a great reminder of how a small gesture of compassion and goodwill can change lives. The writer is a client of ours at Juut Salonspa.
Hi, My hair stylist is Deb Camasta and as I was sitting in her chair one day, she was sharing your story of being a day maker. I too had a story that proves the powerful impact that we have on one another and she wanted
me to email it to you. I was a sophomore in high school gym class when my classmates and I were getting ready for a game of basketball. Another one of our male classmates walked in a little later and all of my guy classmates started making barnyard noises as he joined us. He was a target for cruelty for no known reason and had never done anything to deserve such horrible treatment. I was shocked that they thought they were any better than anyone else and told them to knock it off and leave him alone. They did and that was that or so
I thought….I got a call from the classmate who had been teased and he asked me out on a date. I thought uh-oh here’s my
opportunity to stand by my word and not be a hypocrite. I said yes to the date and my friends were shocked. We went to a movie and had a nice time and that was the end of that.
When we were seniors and getting ready to graduate the teased classmate who went on to become our high school basketball star called me and asked if we could go on a walk together. I thought it was a strange request, but said
yes what could it hurt. As we were walking, he told me that he had something very important to tell me. I had no idea what it could be. He proceeded to say, ” I just wanted to
say thank you, for saving my life.” I was shocked and didn’t quite understand how I could’ve changed his life let alone saved it. He told me that he had been planning to kill himself sophomore year, that the teasing had gotten so bad that he couldn’t stand to be here anymore, but then
something changed. He told me that I had stood up for him and that gave him an opportunity to just “be” instead of dreading each oncoming day. I had forgotten about the incident at gym class and couldn’t believe such a casual
off hand remark to “leave him alone” could change someone’s life. I am still humbled by that experience andtry to live my life knowing that I don’t always get that opportunity to know how I affected someone negatively
and positively. He gave me the real gift that day and I feel blessed to have had such an experience. We are so lucky that we all have the power to be day makers – all in our own way!-Nicole Hamel
Enjoy Daymaker Day on April 29th and please share your stories to inspire other Daymakers on this site. There are thousands of Daymakers in the world that read Daymaker stories on this site so please share your day with us.
Peace and many Blessings,
David Wagner
www.daymakermovement.com
Tue, Apr 24, 2007
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