The Bellus Academy Beauty School in Poway, Calif., has done an extraordinary job of giving back to the community. On Sept. 10^th, the academy opened its doors to all military men and their wives or girlfriends and offered free services of most every type of service — nails, hair, facials, and massages. This was the first time they have done a special military day, but it was such a big success they’re now thinking of doing it quarterly.

According to instructor Diana Snipe, who is also an educator for Backscratchers, the event brought in close to 200 people for the day, and they had just as many students work the day in different shifts. “We were open for like 12 hours,” Diana said, “And the entire school was open; we had about 12 nail stations and I think we have about 25 or so stations for hair. But we also opened up the massage section, the esthetician area, and also makeup.”

Local pizzeria’s also donated pizzas for the students to eat in between shifts, and a DJ kept an upbeat atmosphere with good music.

Bellus also partnered with a local Ronald McDonald House Charity, to offer manicures during a charity fundraiser. “The men were bidding on a golf game, and they could buy package deals where the women could get a manicure while they played golf. So we set up our stations and went to work.”

The event lasted all day, with about 125 women getting manicures.

Here are some pictures from the Military Thank You Day:

And here some from the Ronald McDonald Fundraiser:

— Tim