Mane Room Salon owner Natasha Rodriguez stands with the Shaping Soles donation box at her business.
Reminder Publishing photo by Sarah Heinonen
EAST LONGMEADOW — In East Longmeadow, a small business owner is spreading her mission of self-care by helping others.
Mane Room Salon’s motto is “growth starts with self-care.” At the salon, seven independent stylists focus on clients’ hair and skin care to “cultivate body and mind,” said owner Natasha Rodriguez. She said, “Every day, when people leave my chair, I feel like they’ve been seen.”
A couple years after Rodriguez opened Mane Room Salon in 2021, she wanted to give back to the community and sought out an area nonprofit to work with. She found Shaping Soles, also based in East Longmeadow, which was created by Chris Goossens and Caty Chmura.
The couple works with community partners to collect donations of new or gently used shoes for children and adults. This is the third year the salon has partnered with Shaping Soles and put a drop off box inside the business’s front door.
“It’s been pretty successful for the past three years. We have a great clientele. They’re ready and willing to help out however they can,” Rodriguez said. “It feels so good to have a small business and be able to give back. It’s really with any kind of self-growth. I do believe [in] any kind of self-care. How do you feel when you give back?” she asked.
In addition to the shoe drive for Shaping Soles, this year, Rodriguez has organized a backpack drive. “What child wouldn’t want to walk into the first day of school with something fresh?” she said. People can donate supplies or make monetary donations, which will be put toward purchasing the backpacks. People who donate will be entered into a raffle drawing for a beauty basket. The goal is to collect enough supplies to fill 48 backpacks by Aug. 22. On Saturday, Aug. 23, Rodriguez said anyone can stop by and choose a backpack. She emphasized that the drive is not limited to families from East Longmeadow.
Rodriguez said she hopes that providing school supplies to families that cannot afford them will “give a mom or a dad or a grandparent a little breath.”
The Shaping Soles shoe drive will continue until Aug. 31. To donate to the shoe drive or the backpack initiative, visit Mane Room Salon, West Building, 200 N. Main St. Suite 1101. Monetary donations can be sent via Venmo to @Natasha-Rodriguez-02. More about Shaping Soles can be found at shapingsoles.org.
