Cut-a-thon to help Devan with 3rd kidney transplant

Kelcy Dolan
Posted 2/19/15

On March 8 you can help a good cause and look good while doing it.

Allure Salon at 1171 Main Ave in Warwick is hosting a Cut-A-Thon to benefit Devan Sousa, who is waiting on his third kidney …

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Cut-a-thon to help Devan with 3rd kidney transplant

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On March 8 you can help a good cause and look good while doing it.

Allure Salon at 1171 Main Ave in Warwick is hosting a Cut-A-Thon to benefit Devan Sousa, who is waiting on his third kidney transplant.

Sousa, who now lives in Massachusetts, grew up in Warwick and graduated from Vets High School.

He was born with defective kidneys, getting his first transplant at only 2 years old. Unfortunately, due to a slow but chronic rejection to the kidney, Sousa had another transplant at the age of 15.

Now, after an infection, Sousa needs yet another transplant but he is hoping “the third time’s the charm.”

Having grown up with the condition his whole life, he had never thought to fundraise before. His girlfriend, Heather, and her son Joshua, who has become a son to Sousa, are the driving motivation behind Sousa’s new fundraising efforts.

The idea to begin fundraising was Heather’s idea because the transplant surgery will keep Sousa from working for several months while he travels to the hospital several times a week for over three months.

Between medical bills, travel costs – his transplant hospital is in New York – and being out of work, Sousa and his family would love to raise $50,000 but understand realistically that they would be happy raising anywhere between $25,000 and $30,000.

He said, “I never wanted pity or charity, but now any help goes a long way, so I thought to give it a shot. The reception has been incredible.”

Allure Salon does a couple cut-a-thons a year to help various causes. One of the stylists at the salon, Lisa Ciesynski, graduated with Sousa from Vets and suggested him as a worthy cause for a cut-a-thon.

Sue Mello, the owner of Allure Salon, agreed.

She said, “Here is this 20-odd-year-old with a child. He needs to stay alive and anything I can do to make sure that happens, I’m going to help.”

Ciesynski said that the day of the cut-a-thon is always fun.

“It’s not stressful or sad, but we have great music and we laugh all day,” she said.

Danielle Colontonio, another Allure stylist, said, “We do a couple of these every year; it’s a really good experience. You leave knowing you really helped someone.”

Bill Simas, a Warwick resident and founder of Funny 4 Funds, an organization that hosts comedy shows to help raise money for various causes, said, “When you start helping people raise money, you realize how good you have it. I don’t have a lot of problems in my own life and it feels good to know that I can help pay it forward.”

Simas will also be working with Sousa on a fundraiser Friday night, a comedy show where all the proceeds will also go to Sousa.

The 90-minute standup comedy show will be at the Elks Lodge in West Warwick on 60 Clyde Street at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20.

Sousa said, “It has been really awesome to see how many people care and want to help me out. This has turned out better than I could have ever expected.”

The cut-a-thon will be held March 8 from 12 to 4 p.m. It will cost $10 per cut, with all proceeds going to Sousa. For the fundraiser, there will also be a truck from the Rhode Island Blood Center for blood and marrow donations. Even without a haircut, Mello encourages people who would like to donate to stop into the salon to do so.

There is also a comedy show Friday, Feb. 20 at the Elks Lodge in West Warwick hosted by Sousa with the help of Funny 4 Funds. Sousa also has a GoFundME page, www.gofundme.com/devansousa.

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