Local women open Warrior Boutique for people with cancer
Mayor Joel Day stopped by the Warrior Boutique open house at 152 Seventh St. in New Philadelphia.
Tanya Burleson of New Philadelphia had always had long, healthy hair, and the idea of losing it due to chemotherapy hit her hard. To make matters worse, on a frantic search for wigs, all she found was outdated hair styles that didn’t suit her.
To solve the problem, Burleson and her best friend Heather Pleskach of Dover opened Warrior Boutique on the lower floor of Burleson’s Farmers Insurance, 152 Seventh St., New Philadelphia.
To kick things off, a ribbon cutting and open house were held Thursday, Feb. 1 at the boutique.
“Losing my hair was the biggest deal for me,” Burleson said.
She is not alone. According to the National Institutes of Health, as many as 14% of women are so traumatized by the thought of losing their hair they will refuse chemotherapy.
“I was searching for a way to help other people along the journey, and I started giving away my wigs and scarves,” Burleson said. “Then the people I gave them to would pass them on to others. So I told my Heather I would really love to do it on a bigger scale.
“When you go bald for the first time, you don’t want anybody to see that. I wanted people to have a private space where they’re comfortable trying on wigs because I wasn’t offered that.”
Burleson said Pleskach decorated the room and helped her plan the event, and then Allison Mann got involved and suggested giving out gift bags. Mann owns Be Unique Studios in Dover.
“She also thought of bringing in the cosmetics, eyebrow pencils and lashes,” Pleskach said.
Mann, who detected her breast cancer during a self-exam in the shower, just completed 16 rounds of chemotherapy.
“My first reaction when I learned I was going to need chemo and would lose my hair was to go out and buy the most expensive wig I could find, not knowing that there were other options,” she said. “So I spent money I didn’t really have at the time, but I felt panicked. Locally, there haven’t been many options, so I love that this is helping people here in Tuscarawas County.”
Burleson and Pleskach want the public to know that just because the boutique is pink doesn’t mean it’s only for breast cancer survivors. “We are here for people fighting all forms of cancer,” Burleson said.
Michelle Festi is a friend of Burleson who helped her paint the building when she bought it. “I just think it’s in her heart to figure out something to help other people,” Festi said. “It gives me goosebumps just thinking about what she can do here.”
New Philadelphia Mayor Joel Day stopped by to support the new venture. “We have our share of cancer here, but we take care of each other in this county.”
“The community has been amazing,” Pleskach said. “Things just show up. They buy things off our Amazon wish list and ship them here.”
“We have to stop and give a shoutout to our husbands,” both said as Pleskach asked her husband Seth to move balloons and set out cookies in the next room.
“The guys helped us paint the room, and my husband built the shelves,” said Burleson, whose son Brandon made the pink logos seen on the shelves with his 3-D printer. “Everything we offer here is 100% free. We’ve had women reach out to us about different programs they’ve found for free. Apparently, someone has found where you can get free tattooing and free micro blading for your eyebrows.”
We have a small home base, and it fills a need, but we also want to add more resource connections,” Pleskach said. “Anyone can go on Amazon and order a wig. But you don’t know what it’s going to look like. Coming in here, they get to have that moment to remember how beautiful they are. They get to try them all on and see what looks good. We can’t give them their hair back or take away what they’re going through, but the point is it’s more than a wig. It’s an experience.
How to help
Burleson and Pleskach have placed a wish list on Amazon.com where people can make purchases and deliver them to the boutique. Checks also can be mailed to Burleson but need to be made out to her personally while they apply for a 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.
“That’s another thing that costs money which we don’t have yet,” Pleskach said.
“I own the building, so there’s no overhead, and we are 100% volunteer-run. Everything we take in goes directly to helping others,” Burleson said.
“Coming in here, they get hugged and loved on by us. They get to feel pretty and have a nice space to try things on,” Pleskach said.
“I cried when our first person came in,” Burleson said. “She had cancer for a year, and she came in with absolutely nothing on her head. When she left, she said her best friend looked at her and said ‘you’re back.’”
A fundraiser held in October covered the expense of getting the boutique open by Christmas Eve. “We officially announced our opening on Christmas Eve,” Burleson said. “We got 25,000 views on a reel that we did in two days on Facebook.”
For now the Warrior Boutique is open by appointment only. To schedule a date, call Burleson at 330-934-0159.