If you’re like me, you’re probably always looking for ways to give back to the community. (I hate that cheesy term, “give back”, but the sentiment is sincere.) In late 2012, I decided I was going to make volunteering and doing charity work a priority, and I went on Volunteer Match to find a charity I could get behind.

Lo and behold, I discovered Beauty Bus.

Beauty Bus provides beauty and pampering services to chronic and terminally ill people both in their homes and at hospitals. Beauty Bus volunteers (a trained professional and a “buddy” who’s there to chat with you as you get your service) come to your house or to the Beauty Bus pop-up salons and give services like manicures and haircuts to patients. The core idea behind Beauty Bus is that, even when you’re sick, a day of beauty brightens your spirit and gives you hope.

I love how they understand that beauty is important, even in life or death scenarios. Sometimes, especially in those scenarios. When my mother was dying of Lymphoma, she was frequently upset because her hair had fallen out and her nails were discolored. She missed looking in the mirror and feeling beautiful. It wasn’t shallow in the slightest. When you really distill it down, that’s what beauty is all about: feeling your best. Feeling human. Feeling worthy.

The foundation was started by Alicia Marantz Liotta after her cousin Melissa Marantz Nealy lost her battle with a degenerative neuromuscular disease at age 28. As Melissa’s condition worsened, Alicia had used her contacts in the beauty industry to arrange in-home beauty services for Melissa to help make her happy. It did such a world of emotional good during such a tough time that Alicia decided to launch the Beauty Bus Foundation after Melissa’s death to bring the same hope to others.

After a year of volunteering with Beauty Bus, I realized that one of the best things I could do for them was help get the word out. Although they’re a very respected charity, they’re still relatively small and are looking to spread the message. Aha! Beauty + cocktails + my blogger/PR friends = no brainer!

We had our event at Nite Spa, a great concept spa that just opened a brand new location in Mar Vista. They’re open daily from noon to midnight, and you can come with your girlfriends and get manicures, pedicures and massages in a homey space while nibbling healthy food and drinking wine. There’s soothing music, magazines and comfy couches, and the whole place is airy and open, with an inviting dinner-party vibe.

It’s not a party without wine, so I have to give a big shout-out to our sponsor 14 Hands, who generously provided several yummy bottles of Pinot Gris and Cabernet Sauvignon. 14 Hands wine is made in Washington’s Columbia Valley, and all the wines are sustainably farmed and get their big, bold, juicy characteristics (for the reds) and crisp, fruit-forward characteristics (for the whites) from the loamy–sand and gravel soils of the Eastern Washington hills. The results are seriously tasty wines–14 Hands 2010 The Reserve Cabernet has a whopping 92 points on Wine Spectator–at unbelievable prices: only $12 for the 2012 Cab.

Beauty Bus is always looking for volunteers in the LA area, and there are several different ways you can help. Sunday, April 27th is their annual Beauty Drive at the Annenberg Building at the California Science Center, which is their biggest fundraiser of the year. If you’d like to attend the Beauty Drive or simply to donate (it’s tax-deductible!), click here. Or, you can volunteer to help in-office, to be a Beauty Buddy, or to put your skills as a licensed hairstylist/makeup artist to use.

It’s such an amazing organization and I urge you to get involved and to learn more about them on their website.

Thanks to Beauty Bus, Nite Spa, 14 Hands, and The Collective PR for putting on such an amazing event!

Just before the event started

A Nite Spa masseuse works his magic

Makeup applications

We were cracking up over the back of this makeup chair

Nite Spa as seen from the balcony at the beginning of the event

Listening to Elizabeth from Beauty Bus explain the foundation’s mission

Thanks to The Collective PR, Beauty Bus, Nite Spa, and 14 Hands Wines for such an awesome event!