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NEW YORK — Walgreens’ Lauren Brindley, group vice president and general merchandise manager for beauty and personal care, was among the beauty industry executives honored last month at the Beauty Cares DreamBall here.
The annual event, attended by 500 beauty, fashion and media representatives, is the largest fundraiser of the year for the Look Good Feel Better program, which helps women going through cancer treatment to manage appearance-related side effects and to feel more like themselves, using skin care, makeup, wigs and turbans. When all efforts are tallied, it is expected more than $1.3 million will be raised for the Look Good Feel Better program, which, to date, has empowered more than 1 million women in the United States, and more than 2 million globally to reclaim the sense of control, confidence and self-esteem that are so central to well-being. The program is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.
Former “Real Housewives of New York City” cast member and health coach Heather Thomson was the mistress of ceremonies at the event held at Gotham Hall. The other honorees were It Cosmetics cofounder Jamie Kern Lima; Alvaro Alonso, general manager for North America at Beiersdorf NA; and Amy Robach, cancer survivor and co-anchor of ABC News’ “20/20.”
Walgreens and Look Good Feel Better have a special bond. While evaluating avenues to modernize and strengthen the delivery of its services, The Look Good Feel Better Foundation and program collaborator the Professional Beauty Association formed the Look Good Feel Better Alliance, a nationwide network of hospitals, cancer centers, volunteers and community partners all dedicated to delivering the Look Good Feel Better program to women where, when and how they need it. With a goal of getting its tools in the hands of more patients, Look Good Feel Better collaborated with Walgreens and its network pharmacists and beauty consultants trained to assist in the aisles to augment the already strong reach into hospital settings and online tools. “This is a wonderful way to achieve our goal of reaching as many people as we can,” said Louanne Roark, executive director of the Look Good Feel Better Foundation. “Many patients are going to Walgreens for their prescriptions, and this is an opportunity to reach them in the aisles.”
Brindley, Roark added, had experience and was involved with Look Good Feel Better through her position with Boots in the U.K. prior to coming to the U.S. for Walgreens. “I’ve been out in the stores, and it is rewarding to see the impact this program has on our customers,” said Brindley, who has been personally been impacted by cancer in her friends and family circle.
Dovetailing with that, Walgreens expanded upon a program piloted in 2018 called Feel More Like You, which was developed in collaboration with the Look Good Feel Better Foundation, to more than 3,000 stores. A component of new training for its beauty consultants includes dealing with the physical side effects of medical treatments. “We really couldn’t have launched the program without the fantastic partnership of Look Good Feel Better,” said Brindley. “We are going to continue to partner with them.”
