Anchorage hairdresser donates over $3,000 worth of beauty supplies to domestic violence shelter

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Growing up in White Mountain, Alaska, Jenna Pitka did not have a domestic violence shelter in her village. Instead, her family would open up their house and offer a safe space for victims to stay.

“Sometimes I’d wake up and I wouldn’t be in my bed, because my bed was given to someone who needed it,” Pitka said.

Now as an adult, continuing to support victims of domestic violence is important to Pitka.

Pitka partnered up with the KLASS ACT Foundation, an organization that’s part of the KLASS Cosmetics & Skincare company in Wisconsin. If a business hits a sales goal, the foundation will provide donations for women in need.

With the help of KLASS, Pitka donated $3,400 worth of beauty products to Abused Women’s Aid in Crisis, a domestic violence shelter in Anchorage. The donations included hair products, makeup and hair styling tools.

“When you have little to spend money on just for basic survival things, I doubt that makeup, and beauty products and shampoo and luxury items are on the top of their list,” Pitka said.

Lilah Walker, the development director for the shelter, said that the donations provide the women with a special treat and allow them to feel special.

“It makes the ladies here feel, you know, cared for, valued — it really helps uphold their dignity,” Walker said.

Pitka dropped off custom-made beauty bundles for women at Harmony Housing, a transitional housing unit, along with individual beauty products for Abused Women’s Aid in Crisis.

“So for them to have these special packets that are going specifically to them, so that they feel taken care of, that’s really going to help boost their self-esteem and self-confidence as they take those first steps towards independence,” Walker said.

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