Botanical Blowout Night raises money for DECA

Cosmetology students blowdries sister's hair

Joy McCammon blow-dries her sister’s hair during Botanical Blowout Night.

SCHNECKSVILLE, Pa. — Botanical Blowout Night, Wednesday’s DECA fundraiser at Lehigh Career & Technical Institute’s salon, produced three sets of big winners.

The first set of big winners are LCTI’s Cosmetology students. They got to demonstrate their growing repertoire of skills for friendly clients including their relatives, friends and school staff members.

Southern Lehigh High School’s Hailey Schumaker blow-dried Kristen Lobach-Clifford’s hair as the latter’s toddler looked on. Lobach-Clifford, a special education facilitator at LCTI, stopped by the salon after school.

Nisreen Al-Bajali, a Whitehall High School student, handled Ally Barto’s hair. The teen’s mother and LCTI school-to-career coordinator Stephanie Barto sat nearby as Jillian Lee, of Parkland High School, blow-dried her hair.

Northern Lehigh High School junior Joy McCammon lined up two clients for the event: her little sister and her mother.

Cosmetology teacher Robert Salim, who worked with DECA advisers Cyndee Barkley and Vicki Lynch to organize Botanical Blowout Night, said a dozen students volunteered their time for the event.

The evening’s clients are the next set of big winners. For 20 bucks each, they walked out of The Salon at LCTI with a fabulous blowout.

And, of course, the final set of winners are Lehigh DECA’s members. Botanical Blowout Night netted $270 for their organization.