Beauty salons and barbershops have been the cornerstone of Black culture for generations. Often, some of the most pivotal conversations happen while in the chair, among our fellow peers while under the care of a beloved stylist. Shea Moisture and the Biden administration are aware of this.
Shea Moisture has recently launched Shots At The Shop, a program that aims to raise awareness and circumvent barriers to vaccination. In partnership with the Black Coalition Against COVID, the University of Maryland Center for Health Equity, the Department of Health and Human Services and Official Black Wall Street with support from the White House COVID-19 Response Team, Shots At The Shop is a part of President Biden’s plan to get 70 percent of Americans at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot before July 4th.
“For Shea Moisture, helping our community—the Black community—is our primary focus and at the core of everything we do,” said CEO of Shea Moisture Cara Sabin. “Over the past year, we have worked tirelessly to ensure we are continuing to support our community in the ways they need it most—through our $1MM Covid Relief Fund, to speaking out on social injustices, to partnering with smaller Black-owned businesses.”
The White House made an initial announcement in June.
The brand will launch a $1MM fund to engage barbershops and salons as community health advocates and vaccination sites. Black-owned salons and barbershops as a part of the program will be able to apply for individual $1,000 grants plus tools and training around community education and COVID-19 vaccines.
Business owners can also apply to have their salons and barbershops used as vaccine sites, as part of the administration’s micro-targeting efforts to increase the vaccination rate.
“As we emerge from the thick of COVID-19, the Black community is disproportionately feeling the effect of this pandemic, economically and culturally,” Sabin said. “Upon reopening to full capacity, Black businesses are likely to either have a smaller customer base ready to return or will face greater risk by interfacing with a larger volume of unvaccinated patrons.”
She continues, “Through our Shots at the Shop initiative, powered by our $1MM Fund, we will educate our community on their options as we navigate the coming months of reopening and reestablishing our communities. We will provide access and opportunity to those who are interested, allowing them autonomy and control over their decision making, while financially supporting Black-owned barbershops and salons, who serve as central hubs within Black communities and have felt the economic impact of the pandemic deeply.”