Use Your Profession As a Way to Give Back | Ideas for Action

"I used to volunteer at shelters and give free hair cuts," says Magdolna Rózsa, an idealist from Budapest, Hungary. Magdolna always had a passion for helping people, and found a way to combine her career in social work with her skills as a beautician to provide free cosmetic services to clients from a local Family Care Center. 

This combination of beauty and social work was a first in Hungary. Through her salon, Tükörkép Műhely (which roughly translates to "reflection workshop"), Magdolna provides services she believes make a huge difference in her community, one person at a time. "Free beauty treatments are big help for them to feel and look better," she says, "to be able to go for a job interview, or just to have more self confidence."

Tükörkép Műhely also offers clothing and outerwear for women to borrow for job interviews, as well as a day care center for their children, complete with a crib, stuffed toys, coloring books, and board games. There is even a small kitchen available to make tea or coffee.

Magdolna is still the only person in Hungary doing what she does, but she has plans to change that fact by spreading the word and showcasing the benefits Tükörkép Műhely has offered thus far. "My long term goals are to open other social beauty salons worldwide with beauticians, hairdressers, and manicurists," she says, "who dedicate themselves to using their skills to help others in need."

In 2018, Magdolna spoke at a TEDx conference at Budapest Metropolitan University, bringing her unique combination of cosmetology and social work to a wider audience. Every step gets her closer to her goal of not only providing beauty treatments and uplifting women who need it, but making a positive impact in her community and beyond.

"I love being a social worker," she says, "because there are so many ways to help others and make this world better with every deed."

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Learn more about Tükörkép Műhely, Magdolna's salon in Budapest.