Modesto homeless treated to haircuts as part of DoubleTree event

Several homeless men got a little pampering and their hair cut Tuesday morning at the Erin Milan Salon & Spa in downtown Modesto.

The free haircuts were part of the DoubleTree Hotel’s Random Acts of Kindness competition, in which the hotel’s managers and supervisors were split into teams and competed to do the most good in the community. Hotel staff members asked the salon if it would be willing to donate its services. “We decided to join them so we could really give back to our community,” said Erin Bugarin, who owns the salon and spa with her husband, Sergio Funes.

DoubleTree staffers handed out about two dozen fliers offering the free haircuts this week at the Salvation Army’s Berberian Home Shelter and Transitional Living Center. Four homeless men took advantage of the offer. The salon set aside 10 to 11 a.m. for the haircuts before taking regular customers.

“I needed a haircut and I’ve got a job interview tomorrow,” said Jason Hayenga, 51, who recently became homeless after losing his job and is in one of the shelter’s transitional living programs.

The DoubleTree competition started about two weeks ago and ended Wednesday. The good deeds included picking up trash downtown, bringing in the Humane Society of Stanislaus County to hold an animal adoption event in the hotel lobby and dropping off cookies for firefighters at Station 1.

The members of the winning team will get $100 each, but most teams have decided to donate the money, DoubleTree corporate sales manager Angela Cangiamilla said.

This story was originally published March 12, 2016 at 2:48 PM with the headline "Modesto homeless treated to haircuts as part of DoubleTree event."