By NANCY HILER
She handed over $1,000 to the American Cancer Society, money she raised by dyeing strands of her customers' hair pink at the Lemon Tree Haircutters salon franchise she owns on Jerusalem Avenue in North Bellmore.
"It was a hair-brained idea," Robles joked, adding that she and her fellow hairdressers often add vibrant colors to people's hair, so pink streaks were not new to them. What was new was taking the $5 or $10 she charged for the pink coloring and donating it to breast cancer research.
Suddenly pensive and misty eyed, she explained, "My mom died of breast cancer 18 years ago, so I wanted to do something when I received the poster about October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month."
Robles was 19 when her mother, Mary Shea, succumbed to the disease at age 42. As Robles moves closer to that age herself, the realization hits home that it is research that has changed that outcome for many who are diagnosed today. She also is adamant about having regular mammograms. She is certain to pass on her conviction that early detection is important to her two young daughters, Breanna, 13 and Tara, 11, both of whom helped her with the pink dyes and spread the word about the fund-raiser.
"You have a lot to be proud of," American Cancer Society representative Theresa Camilleri, also of Bellmore, told Robles when she came by the salon to accept the $1,000 check last Saturday. "That you are doing this in honor of your mother is just so heartwarming to me."
Camilleri is the person who sent the breast cancer awareness poster to the salon in the first place. She distributed posters among many Bellmore small businesses, particularly those most frequented by women, such as hair salons, as part of her job in recruiting people to take part in the annual walk for a cure at Jones Beach, which took place this year on Sunday, Oct. 21.
"It is so different today," Camilleri, a one-year survivor of the disease, assured Robles. "The treatment is so different today from what it was when your mother was diagnosed."
In addition to her daughters, Robles credited four other young people with helping her to raise the money, her assistants, Lyssa Avanzato, 17, of Bellmore; Angela Blom, 18, of Merrick; Val Madden, 17, of Wantagh; and Manny Osegueda, 20. The assistants enthusiastically described how they told everyone they knew about the fund-raiser, asking them to stop in to have pink strands put in their hair.
The assistants and Robles's daughters said they spread the word to their aunts, cousins, neighbors and classmates. Women, old and young, came in for the pink streaks, but the idea really took off among teenage and pre-teenage girls.
"We had half of Grand Avenue Middle School and Merrick Avenue Middle School in here. We had girls from Mepham and Kennedy high schools. We had half of Levy-Lakeside Elementary School in here," Blom recounted. "We had 13 girls come in at one time, and then 18 girls another time." In addition to customers from Bellmore, Merrick and Wantagh, others came from as far away as Hewlett and Central Islip, Avanzato said.
Owners of other Lemon Tree salons were getting phone calls asking if they were participating in the fund-raiser. "I didn't expect it to get so crazy," Robles commented.
Robles said she began collecting donations for the pink streaks on Sept. 11 and decided to end the fund-raiser in time for the Jones Beach walk so she could donate to the cause then. She said it was in the last few days that the news really spread. "On Wednesday, I had $550. Today I have $1,000," she said on Saturday, the day before the walk.
"I never meant for it to be so crazy as it was," she said. "I had no clue this would happen."
Camilleri said she was honored to accept the $1,000 donation on behalf of the Making Strides campaign. "We've had a really great response this year," she said.
All told, about 60,000 people turned out for the event at Jones Beach on Sunday. About $2.7 million was raised this year.
Donations continue to be accepted online at http://makingstrides.acsevents.org or by calling 1-800-ACS-2345.
Comments about this story? Contact nhiler@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 234.
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