At first look you would never guess how much Alicia Amsler has going on. Sure she’s busy. As the owner of Alicia Salon in Chesterfield, VA, she’s busy in the way all successful business owners are. There’s always something to do. Someone to manage. A client to serve.
Yet as founder of Runway 2 Life, Alicia by most people’s standards, has a whole other life going on. Alicia founded the non-profit that focuses on mental health awareness and suicide prevention and its accompanying fashion show less than 2 years ago. That’s she’s calm as heck on the outside anyway, belies the fact of how much she has accomplished in such a short time.
I recently had the pleasure of photographing Alicia, as well as her daughter, Taylor, here at Margo Millure Photography. She managed to squeeze the shoot in on a Monday, the traditional day-off for beauty salons. But in Alicia’s world, Monday is the day in recent months, she dedicates her day to running the Runway 2 Life machine.
In her own words from her website: “I was inspired to put this show on because of my experience seeing the people around me disappear because of their struggles with mental illnesses and depression. Instead, we want to create hope, awareness, encouragement, and education to help you live the life you want to live.”
With support and sponsorship from NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) and companies such as Redken, Runway 2 Life has grown quickly in its short history. Besides the show, Alicia through Runway 2 Life is focused on bringing relevant educational and support programming to the Richmond area.
The 2nd Annual Runway 2 Life fashion show, is set to take place on October 12 at Main Street Station in Richmond. Tickets, both general admission ($45) and VIP ($150) are selling fast. An after party ticket is also available.
If you go, be sure to check out all the silent auction items and gift bags! Margo Millure Photography is donating a $2000 package to the silent auction, as well as something special for both the VIP and general admission gift bags!
Alicia Amsler has drawn people from throughout the community together in preparation for the big show. If you’re interested in attending the show, volunteering, or learning more about the non-profit’s programming, visit the Runway 2 Life website.