Care packages bring sparkle to Mercy Medical Center staff

Health care workers at Mercy Medical Center have been on the front lines during the coronavirus pandemic for more than two months, and several local businesswomen decided it was time to give them something extra for their efforts. So, the four Rockville Centre-based businesswomen collaborated to provide the health care workers with a care package intended to pamper.

Izabela Saboski, owner of Colourbar Hair on Park Avenue, and Lorette Pribil, an employee of the designer fashion jewelry brand CZ by Kenneth Jay Lane, came up with the idea of collaborating on a donation to Mercy.

“We’ve both lived in Rockville Centre for decades and combined our efforts to develop a care package with a new spin,” Saboski said, “one that is based on beauty, on the inside and outside.”

Saboski has been providing hair services to the men and women of Rockville Centre for the past seven years and donated shampoo and conditioner to the care package.

“I have empathy for the nursing staff as they must wash their hair very often,” she said. “These L’Oreal products will help with hair maintenance.”

She also included a gift certificate coaster that can be used to receive a discount on services at Colour Bar Hair in the future.

Pribil was able to secure a donation of a cubic zirconia pendant necklace from CZ by Kenneth Jay Lane. “The stone sparkles brilliantly,” Pribil said. “We felt that the slogan ‘bring the sparkle back into your life’ should be the them of this donation to the nursing staff at Mercy. We hope that this fashion jewelry will bring the nurses joy and added beauty in a time when they are devoting their time and efforts to helping others and putting their personal needs aside.”

To round out the gift bags, the women reached out to other local merchants. Nala Royale, owner of Dunn’s River Restaurant and Lounge, donated a gift certificate to each nurse, offering a discount on the Park Avenue restaurant’s authentic Caribbean food. Lisa Lowe, owner of Vines and Branches, also on Park Avenue, donated individual bottles of specialty olive oil and balsamic vinegar to the care package.

The women assembled 100 gift bags and delivered them to Mercy nurses last week.

“We wanted to honor our local medical staff who are so devoted during the Covid-19 pandemic,” Saboski said. “We live here, we work here, we maintain businesses, we support our fellow local businesses and we appreciate our fabulous small town community of Rockville Centre.”