Charity Work

Back in 2003, Salvatore's Barber Shop got fully into the spirit of Comic Relief's Red Nose Day — and we didn't do things by halves! The team dyed their hair bright red, donned their red noses and RND03 t-shirts, and raised money for this brilliant charity throughout the day.

Customers could get their hair spiked and dyed red for a donation, and the shop was a hive of fun and laughter. A fantastic day for a fantastic cause — Comic Relief raises millions of pounds to help people living incredibly tough lives across the UK and Africa.

November is now Movember at Salvatore's Barber Shop. Throughout the whole of November we grew our taches for The Prostate Cancer Charity, donating all our tips plus any donations from our customers.

A massive thank you to everyone who donated — together we raised a brilliant £860 for this fantastic cause.

In the summer of 2015, the Coldharbour Road traders came together to sponsor "Groovy Baby!" — one of 70 giant Shaun the Sheep sculptures placed across Bristol as part of the Shaun in the City arts trail, created by Aardman Animations in aid of The Grand Appeal, the Bristol Children's Hospital Charity.

Our Groovy Baby! was designed by illustrator Emily Ketteringham and kindly sponsored by the Coldharbour Road BS6 Traders — of which Salvatore's Barber Shop was proud to be a part. The sculpture sat outside our shops and quickly became a local landmark, with Shaun fans flocking to Coldharbour Road to see him throughout the summer.

The trail was a huge success across the city. All 120 sculptures went to auction on 8th October 2015, raising a spectacular £1,087,900 in a single evening for The Grand Appeal and Wallace & Gromit's Children's Charity — helping provide life-saving equipment and care for sick children at Bristol Children's Hospital.

Me and my youngest son were tasked with cleaning our Groovy Baby! every week throughout the summer — making sure she stayed bright and colourful for all the visitors stopping by to see her on Coldharbour Road.

In November 2016, Salvatore's son Gerlando lost his hair to alopecia. Showing incredible courage and positivity, he decided to turn his experience into something meaningful — shaving his head for Macmillan Cancer Support in December 2016.

On the evening of the shave, Salvatore and Anna wrote: "WOW what an evening!! My wife and I are so proud of our son Gerlando and we love him so much. We would like to say a BIG thank you to everyone for their kind messages, support and massive donations. We went over the £3,000 mark this evening which is so much more than we ever expected. Just shows he has so many generous and caring family and friends that love him."

"This started as a way to deal with Gerlando losing his hair and has finished with Macmillan gaining a massive donation to help those that really need it. Gerlando is perfectly healthy and nothing explains his alopecia but we must now get on with life, move on and hopefully see his lovely hair grow again. Love you Big G XXX — Anna & Salvatore"

It was a pleasure to shave off Simon Davis's beard for his charity Fairy Bricks. Simon's 13-year-old daughter Tatiana had been in remission for 1.5 years but had just been diagnosed with leukaemia. She was amazing on the day, helping clipper off her dad's beard before Salvatore shaved him.

Fairy Bricks is a wonderful charity — if you're a fan of Lego, they provide hospitals with Lego for sick children to play with during their stay. A truly thoughtful and special gift for children going through the toughest of times.

Watch the time-lapse video of the full shave below, and if you'd like to support Simon's fundraiser please visit the donation link.

A team of Bristol barbers including Salvatore took on the AJ Bell Great Bristol 10K Run in aid of Talk Club — a UK men's mental health charity helping men improve their mental fitness by encouraging them to talk openly about how they're feeling.

As Salvatore's wife posted on the day: "They did it!!! Proud of you both. Thanks to everyone who donated — they smashed their £5k target. Well done team, and thanks to everyone who donated."

Together the team raised an incredible over £5,000 for this vital cause. A fantastic achievement by everyone involved.

In October 2024 we were proud to support Operation Community Hamper by using our shop on Coldharbour Road as a local drop-off point for donations.

Operation Christmas Hamper collects gifts, food and money to support vulnerable families so that they can enjoy the festive season. As the campaign puts it: "Your contribution will go a long way to support families that may not have anything for Christmas."

We displayed their Christmas Collection appeal on our shop screen and invited customers to drop off donations with us throughout October. Every little helps — and our customers were incredibly generous.