CHATTANOOGA - Chattanooga Care’s Ninth Annual Cut Up for Life brought the local community together for a deserving cause.

Held on September 10, more than 500 people were served by the 28 vendors who were offering an array of services including haircuts, colors, manicures, facials, massage, and even pet grooming.

The event lasted all day on Chattanooga’s Walnut Street Bridge, one of the country’s longest pedestrian-only bridges. A creative flair was added this year, showcasing ten local artists each displaying a wide variety of talents. Each of the vendors reserved booths for the best of Chattanooga’s stylists and cosmetologists, all of whom donated their services for Cares.

“We are so thankful to all the salons, volunteers and participants who

come out to our events and enable us to serve this community with our many services and programs. Chattanooga CARES has faced a challenging year and we are working through our challenged with the support of our donors and volunteers" commented Nicole Bellenfant, vice president of community affairs. CARES relies on these fundraisers to fill in the gaps where the state and government grants fall short.

Cut Up For Life is one of three annual Chattanooga Cares’ fundraisers. The next fundraiser is Gayla, which will be held on December 2. Gayla is a ‘black-tie’ event that is held in the historic Read House in Chattanooga. This year’s speaker is Judy Shepard whose son, Matthew, was murdered in an anti-gay hate crime in Laramie, Wyoming. Mrs. Shepard has been on the forefront of gay-right and hate-crime legislature and even founded the Matthew Shepard Foundation which supports educational projects, activities, and documentaries that raise awareness of the issues involving discrimination and diversity. Prior to Gayla will be an Equality 101 seminar. For more information, please call Cares at 423-648-9910.