Prince George, B.C. – The staff at a Prince George hair studio will be offering their services this weekend to raise money for a program that helps young people deal with loss.

The shop’s stylists will be at Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park from 11:30 am to 4 pm on Sunday to cut hair for the Rainbows program.  “Natasha” at Richard and Company Hair Studio in Parkwood Mall says “we are doing haircuts by donation for the Rainbows Hospice program.  We will have a Bounce Castle, popcorn, cotton candy, a bake sale and all of the proceeds are going to that program.”

“Natasha” says “we will have eight girls cutting hair.  And we’ve been selling raffle tickets, we’ve got a whole bunch of donations from people around the city and we’ve been selling 50/50 tickets.”

She says even if you’re not looking to get your hair cut but would still like to make a donation you can do so either at the park on Sunday or by dropping in to Richard and Co. Hair Studio at 135 – 1600 15^th Avenue.

Katherine Gladwyn at the Prince George Hospice Society says “the Rainbows program is an international program, it’s over 30 years old, and it’s a grief and loss program for children and teens.  The grief can be from a painful transition from death, divorce, separation, abandonment or neglect.”

She says there are several sites throughout the community which offer the free program, including Hospice House, St. Mary’s School, the Youth Containment Centre and the adult containment facility, Ron Brent School during the school year, the Child Development Centre and others.  The program, which is hosted at Hospice House, is open to children and is free of charge.

Gladwyn says “the Rainbows is not therapy or counseling, it’s peer support and educational tools.  We have facilitators that are trained by the Rainbows program, and it’s a lot about listening and helping guide children through their painful transition.  Helping them to understand the feelings that they have and give them tools to work through their life, and not feel alone.”

“And it’s about building self-esteem, allowing kids to make decisions and know that they can make those decisions.  Their thoughts are validated here, and everybody’s feelings are exactly what that person feels.  To be able to talk about it is very important.”

The next session of the program starts on Sept. 15^th and runs for 13 weeks.  And again, there is no charge.

The charge for a haircut at the park band shell on Sunday is by donation.