Rosie's Gift: Empower Future Stylists

I am a proud daughter of Rosie Caldwell. My family, as a collective, had our hearts broke as we watched our resilient, fun loving, mother and the center of our family fall into the hands of dementia. She passed on October 8, 2024 in her home. We carry on holding all the love she bestowed on to us the best we can.

My mom was a great mom for the same reason she was a great person, and it had nothing to do with self-sacrifice. My mom had a powerful gift to allow everyone she came in contact with to feel seen, heard, validated, and important. She loved her family, her people, her children, her clients, and her grandchildren so much it almost broke her heart.

My mom had two big goals in life: 1- to be a mother and 2- to be a hairstylist.

As a young girl I spent days in her little salon where she would have, sometimes, 3 or 4 women with rollers in their hair, and while she worked, there was laughter in the air. She was somehow able to prioritize each one of them all at the same time. Due to the investment she made into their life, those women showed me tenderness and care throughout my childhood and into adulthood. My mom was at the root of me finding community with other women. When she stepped away from behind the chair and into retirement, it was so hard for her. Not because of the work, but because of the relationships built there.

She came from a family in poverty, and she wasn't just given the funds to go to cosmetology school, grants and loans for a women at that time wasn't a thing. She worked so hard to get herself through school. She never looked back.

My family and I would love to bless another student facing barriers to do the career she loved most. We are using the money we have been given thus far to use for a scholarship to help another student get themselves through cosmetology school and continue to build relationships in the way she knew how the best!

A student needs about $24K to get themselves through cosmetology school. For a student with low income status and full financial aid, they typically face a $4-8K out of pocket expense. We would love to take that burden away from someone in honor of our mother.