Regina Salon Spa Owner Grand Prize Winner of $ 50,000 Grant

The owner of Miyosiwin Salon Spa recently won a grant of $ 50,000 and will use a portion of the money to start a distance beauty training program for First Nations youth.

When Jennifer Dubois learned that her salon had won the scholarship, she didn’t believe the news.

“We didn’t think it was real,” Dubois said. “I called a few people through Mazda Canada to make sure it was right and not wrong. When I realized that was initially true, I started to cry.

Miyosiwin Salon Spa opened in 2017 in downtown Regina. A year after it opened, Miyosiwin had temporarily closed its doors due to a fire in the nearby building called Lang’s Cafe. The fire forced the salon to close for a year until repairs were made.

Business was going well until the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the world, forcing businesses to shut down.

It was a huge blow to the salon spa.

“It’s been a lot of ups and downs for us as a company,” Dubois said. “But what got us through it all was the support from the community that we received.”

Currently, Miyosiwin is in the process of relocating the living room due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dubois said they were struggling to keep their doors open due to the cost of renting downtown space.

They have not been operating for three months, but Dubois has maintained its activities by taking his team to different indigenous communities to provide the beauty services.

Dubois wants to help cosmetology students gain salon service experiences. It was from this perspective that the idea was born to create a distance learning program in beauty for young aboriginal people. Dubois said that with the money from the grant, she can make the program a reality.

“Many academies that offer training [is] in a short period of time, ”she said. “So what we want to do is provide online training for members who are out of town, who cannot come to town. “

The practical training will take place either at the show, or the Dubois will take its team into the community. The $ 50,000 grant will provide this reality to create opportunities for Indigenous communities as well as for the Miyosiwin Salon Spa.

An anonymous person put Miyosiwin Salon Spa in the campaign for the national grant. The grant money comes from the Mazda Canada Local Legends campaign where Miyosiwin is among the three winners.

This campaign was designed to help small businesses get through the pandemic period.

Sandra Lemaitre of Mazda Canada says the initiative gives $ 1 million to small businesses across Canada.

“We all know these companies in our communities that are real pillars,” said Lemaître. “We had a research team across Canada for some small businesses that closed their doors and that the community really missed. “

Although Miyosiwin Salon Spa is currently temporarily closed, it is expected to reopen at its new location after New Years.

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