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We Stand Together The ongoing bushfires have shaken Australians to the core. But amid the tragedy, we’ve also seen the community spirit in our industry flourish. Nadine Dilong talked to business owners and brands to see how the fires have affected them.
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anuary is usually a quiet month. People are away on holidays, enjoying the post-Christmas time with family and friends, making ambitious plans for the new year, often without a care in the world. It’s an optimistic time. But this year was different. The devastating bushfires in Australia affected all of us – some more seriously than others, of course, but everyone on the East and South Coast of Australia could see, smell, and feel the smoke in their lungs – a constant reminder of the terrible loss of lives, homes, and habitat that has happened since October 2019. Within three months, at least 29 people were killed, thousands of homes are destroyed, 16 million acres have burned, hundreds of millions of animals have perished, and many more are struggling to survive unable to find water or food. The outpour of donations and help from people both within Australia and internationally has been a powerful glimpse of hope in this dark time, and our own industry has played a fair part in this, too.
Spa And Clinic Owners Share Their Stories As I started to connect with many spa, clinic, and salon owners at the beginning of January to hear if they had been affected by the fires, it felt like everyone had a devastating story to share. If it wasn’t their own business that had suffered, it was friends, staff, or clients they were worried about. Dr Naomi from The Manse Clinic in Sydney told me about her “social media assistant from a rural town who had towns around him burning up. I was worried and am still happy when he checks in with me every day. Some of our patients have been evacuated from their homes, had their holidays cancelled and been affected in many different ways.” Dr Naomi has since started selling her 24 | SPA+CLINIC
skincare products at 50% off, and has donated 100% of that money to the NSW Rural Fire Service and the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital. HUD Skin and Body’s Director Gry Tomte was also worried about some of her patients. “We have several clients who are in the affected areas, and we have done our best to support them by giving away a free treatment to several clients who we know have been through a lot these past few weeks. Our clients are like our family we have a very loyal client base and it’s the least we can do in a time of need.” Gry has also made several donations and reached out to DMK to see if they could help as well. “DMK’s CEO Daniel Dickson responded with a heart-warming idea that we have a clinic opt-in to donate $5 for every Enzyme Therapy we do during January and February. DMK will then match every donation dollar for dollar. When we put it out to our social media followers we had such a huge response from overseas clinics as well, that DMK USA have also offered to match any donations dollar for dollar! We are so lucky to be a community who really cares about making a difference - and I’m so grateful for the incredibly huge response from the clinics here in Australia who all very quickly put their hand up to partake. Together we will make a difference!” Leanne Spring from Spring Spa Wear has also had many sleepless nights due to the fires. “The bush fires have been devastating. My father and two brothers live in the Southern Highlands. They were evacuated from their homes as the fires raged through their communities; 10 homes in their tiny village of Wingello were lost. Thankfully their homes are safe. Dad said all the trees around our family home were on fire, the place looks like a war zone,” said Leanne. She has adopted several Koalas to aid wildlife recovery.