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Hartford Shop Donates Wigs to Cancer Patients

Jangwon Son (left), owner of Hair City in Hartford, recently donated 75 new wigs for cancer patients who participate in the DIVAS Latina Cancer Support Program. Pictured with him in his Albany Avenue shop is Denise Rivera, coordinator of the DIVAS program.    

Hartford beauty supply store owner Jangwon Son had never heard of the Hispanic Health Council when Denise Rivera called him to inquire about wigs for her cancer program clients. But somehow, the chance introduction seemed meant to be.
     Son, an immigrant from Korea, who owns Hair City in Hartford’s North End, had just packed up several boxes of surplus wigs and was thinking about where he might donate them.
     The devastating earthquake had just struck Haiti, so he thought of that first. Then he thought again. “They don’t need wigs,’’ he said. At about the same time, the phone rang in his cramped, but neatly organized shop at 1291 Albany Ave.
     Rivera, coordinator of the DIVAS Latina Cancer Support Program at the Hispanic Health Council was calling to ask if the shop accepted health insurance payments from cancer patients who needed wigs.
      For her clients enduring chemotherapy, the shock of losing their hair was often the saddest and most terrifying part of cancer treatment. One woman said she cried in the morning when she woke up to find clumps of hair on her pillow. Now, Rivera had two clients who faced a double indignity. They were bald and could not afford a wig because they were impoverished and insurance would not pay.
      Son had found a cause.
     Four years earlier, Son’s aunt had died of breast cancer at the age of 46. His voice catches a little when he remembers her. She was the youngest of his mother’s seven siblings. She shared Jangwon Son’s love of art and passed along to him her eye for beauty, which she noticed in everything from nature to the tag sale bargains she turned into treasures.
     “I really loved my aunt,’’ Son said.
     In late February, Son donated about 75 new wigs to the DIVAS Latina Cancer Support Program.  One client has already been fitted with a wig of long, dark hair, similar to what she lost to her cancer treatment. Rivera said the fitting was combined with a makeover provided by Look Good, Feel Better, a non-profit program that helps women use cosmetics to overcome the appearance-related side effects of cancer treatment. The woman left the Hispanic Health Council feeling beautiful, Rivera said.
      Rivera said it has been difficult to find words to express her gratitude to Son, who said he is prepared to make further donations to the DIVAS program in the future.
      Son said he has many healthy customers who purchase wigs at his shop for cosmetic reasons and many others who have lost their hair during to cancer treatment. He said he has long been looking for a way to give something back to the community and to his loyal clientele.
      “Anytime I see anybody who needs a wig for losing hair, I try to help,’’ Son said.

Simsbury Families Host a Holiday Party

Every year, a group of Simsbury families hosts a holiday party for Hispanic Health Council families complete with food, crafts, caroling and presents for the children.

Unionville Couple Holiday Angels at HHC

After raising five children and doting on 12 grandchildren, you’d think Paul and Pat Robotham, of Unionville, would be long finished with diapers and baby formula and scrambling to collect the perfect Christmas toy.

But in the days before Christmas, Pat can often be found rushing through Wal-Mart to pick-up a few last-minute gifts that a group of children and their parents have come to depend on.

For years, the Robothams, now both in their 70s, have been holiday angels to a growing number of families who receive services from the Hispanic Health Council.

Each year, Paul loads the bed of his pick-up truck with scores of brightly wrapped gifts donated by fellow parishioners at St. Mary’s Star of the Sea Church in Unionville. The couple help to coordinate a giving tree at the church, which also benefits other organizations.

The Robothams create tags listing the names, ages and wishes of two dozen families, many of whom receive services through the Hispanic Health Council’s Comadrona program. The program provides home visits and support to pregnant women and their infants to help give families the best possible start.

Picking tags from the tree, parishioners purchase and wrap the gifts in time for the Robothams to deliver them to the Hispanic Health Council’s Hartford building a few days before Christmas.

Gifts have included a new bicycle, complete with a helmet; a toy kitchen, a remote-control car with plenty of batteries, warm comforters and bedding, gift cards for the adults and rolling shopping carts so families who do not own cars can bring home groceries from neighborhood markets. The shopping carts were Pat’s idea.

“They haul all of this stuff around and have no way to get to the grocery store,’’ Pat said.

Pat called the couple’s work with the Hispanic Health Council a privilege. “There is such a need,’’ she said.

Hispanic Health Council Clients Grateful for Simple Necessities

The Hispanic Health Council is be grateful for donations of the following items. All items must be new, sealed and in their original packaging. We cannot accept products that have been opened.

New men’s socks
New men’s underwear

Trial or travel-size:
Soap
Shampoo
Toothpaste
Deodorant
Body wash
Body lotion

New toothbrushes
Toothpaste

Regular-size:
Soap
Mouthwash
Combs
Brushes
Deodorant
Razors
Shaving cream
Shampoo

Tampons
Sanitary napkins
Disposable diapers (any size)
Wipes

For women undergoing chemotherapy:

Camisoles (sizes medium to extra-large)

Nutritional supplements, such as Ensure

Hot/cold packs

Herbal tea

Eucerin hand lotion

Baby shampoo