Volunteer salon provides respite for parents

MEDINA — Samantha Hallam of Akron sat in Akron Children's Hospital Monday morning awaiting further news on her infant daughter, who is in the midst of a lengthy stay at the facility. But instead of being confined to a waiting area, she was having her hair cut by a professional stylist thanks to years' worth of volunteer work from Medina business owner Mark Geschke. "This means so much to me," said Hallam. "It gives us moms a break and we can have that without having to leave or be far away from our baby. We don't have to wonder what's happening or if our kid's OK. It's just a great service to have and we're very thankful for it." Geschke, owner and operator of One Hour Heating and Air Conditioning, 865 W Liberty St., began efforts to set up the Jody Smith Hair Salon about two years ago. The operation now sets up shop every Monday and last week celebrated its one-year anniversary. Over that time, it has served about 100 clients with an average week bringing 5-6 people in for a haircut or work on their nails. The salon is named in honor of JoAnn "Jody" Smith, a Wadsworth native who died suddenly in 2016 at age 50. Like Geschke, she was a member of Utah-based Children's Miracle Network, working for that organization and Akron Children's Hospital as a developmental contractor and organizing countless fundraisers for kids fighting life threatening illnesses. "I've been a volunteer here for about seven years total now," said Geschke. "Monday is my day off and before the salon, my work here was pretty much running errands and that gave me the opportunity to get to know a lot of people around the building. Going around, you saw different needs for many different people. These folks in the salon today, they've been here for 42 days. Why not give them the chance to get a haircut and feel good about it? "You get 45 minutes to an hour of pampering, and who deserves that more than these parents? Most parents don't want to leave their children to come down here, but once they're down here, they're so glad they came. We offer to go up and sit with their child while they're here, too." Part of Geschke's passion in working with children comes from his late granddaughter, Megan, who was born in 1997 weighing 1.4 pounds before dying at five months. "She was in the NICU at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital," he said. "Going up there everyday really showed me so much. Back then, NICU was just a big room with three rocking chairs. If you were there early enough to get a chair, you got to sit down. Just seeing what the nurses did and how hard they worked to take care of our granddaughter, it's stuck with me ever since." Michelle Lumadue, a stylist from Hinckley Hairworks, 2400 Babcock Road, Hinckley Township, is one of three volunteers currently working at the salon. Geschke said he is looking for one more and can be contacted at (330) 350-0361. Every year in May and June, One Hour Heating and Air Conditioning in Medina donates $100 to Akron Children's for every full HVAC system sold and $50 for every component sold. Geschke's business also offers "Heroes Club" benefits to current U.S. military members, veterans and local first responders that includes free HVAC system maintenance for life. Word of mouth regarding the salon has spread throughout Medina, Summit and Cuyahoga counties, said clients and volunteers. "Just make that first step," said Geschke, speaking to others out there who've considered volunteer work. "Find a need and plan out how you want to fill that need. You'll feel good and it will make a difference in someone's life. You get to know new people and once you get started, you'll be surprised how many people want to help out." Contact reporter Jonathan Delozier at (330) 721-4050 or jdelozier@medina-gazette.com.