Grateful Adoptive Father Cuts for a Cause
When Christopher Lee Mc- Givern and his partner Shawn adopted their son at the age of two, he had already been named Tyriq, which, they were told, meant “the chosen one.” They kept the name.
“I can’t even imagine a day without our son,” said a very grateful McGivern, the newest hairstylist at Laguna Beach’s Gregory Stevens Salon, who will ply his scissors during a cut-a-thon next week to raise money for Kinship Center, a nonprofit agency that specializes in placing children from foster care.
Over 16 years of doing hair, McGivern wielded his scissors for causes as varied as 9/11, the Red Cross, Earth Day, and breast cancer awareness. This time, though, it’s personal.
November is national adoption awareness month, and as the family embarks on a new life in Laguna Beach, McGivern wanted to express his gratitude for the organization that helped him create a family seven years ago. He will give Kin- ship Center 50 percent of the earnings he makes next week during his hours at Gregory Stevens Salon, 540 S. Coast Highway, Suite 206, between 2 and 7 p.m. Nov. 10, 11, 13 and 14.
Having started out with an adoption agency that was slow moving, the couple switched over to the Santa Ana-based Kinship Center, where, said McGivern, “they were very accommodating to us throughout the entire process. I’m glad to be able to do this for them now, in return.”
McGivern is currently transitioning from a salon in Riverside that he has owned for the past 12 years to joining the team at Gregory Stevens Salon. It’s the first step in the family’s long-anticipated move to Laguna Beach, which will be complete when they take up residence here in June.
“Giovanna M,” who said she has worked with McGivern and that he’s been her hair stylist for over 10 years, posted a five-star review for him online at Yelp.com. “Since he’s decided to take his career and family to Laguna Beach I am so thrilled that more California women will get to experience what an awesome hair stylist is like,” she wrote. “If there’s such a thing as working magic in someone’s hair, Christopher Lee will do it!”
McGivern is excited about the move. “I think I fell into the best salon that I could have possibly found,” he said, praising co-workers and clients alike, as well as the beautiful location.
According to Alison Maxon, Kinship Center’s regional executive director, it is not at all unusual for parents who adopt to want to give back. The center makes a point of partnering with their families so that they don’t feel lost and on their own. “What I would say to folks is that they would be supporting a local non-profit that serves children in this community and is focused on helping them get permanent families,” said Maxon, commenting on McGivern’s cut-a-thon.
Twenty percent of the nation’s foster children live in California, many right here in Orange County, and Kinship Center’s mission is to get them out of foster care or institutions and into families where “they really heal,” said Maxon, who explained that, unlike private adoptions, the adoption of a foster child is a public adoption and there aren’t any out of pocket costs. The children are in the custody of the state and the state pays for the support services needed to ensure a positive transition. The center offers an array of services providing the families and the children with long-term support where necessary, including training, education, and counseling.
To make a salon appointment call 497-0238. To learn more about Kinship Center, visit www.KinshipCenter. org.
