Since January, Blush Hair and Beauty Lounge has offered typical salon services: hair, nails, esthetics. Now, salon owner Michelle Garrish is adding another service: the salon, as a drop-off location for supplies for Ruth’s House, Washington’s domestic violence shelter.

“It’s just something that all of us here, we have been discussing that we want to do something,” Garrish said. “This was something that we all have dear to our hearts; that we wanted to get behind.”

The partnership came by way of hair, as Ruth’s House Executive Director Valerie Kines is a client of Garrish’s. Garrish and her employees were looking for a way to serve the community and decided offering the salon as a permanent collection site for Ruth’s House supplies — one across town from the Ruth’s House antiques store — was a good fit.

“It seems like a really simple thing to do to help,” Garrish said. “We’re right here on the way to Walmart, so they can just pull through and drop off.”

The list of needed supplies posted in July includes: bleach, bug spray, cleaning supplies, coloring books/crayons, diapers (all sizes), dish detergent, disinfectant spray and wipes, feminine products, gallon-sized Zip-loc bags, gift cards (for clothing and gas), hand soap and sanitizer, manicure sets/clippers, paper products, sippy cups, Solo cups, sponges, Swiffer pads and refills, thermometers, trash bags and wipes.

As a salon owner, Garrish is hoping to collect items of a more personal-care nature.

“We also want to collect women’s products — hair products, makeup, anything,” she said.

Pick-up for donated items will vary, based on Kines’ hair appointments: “She can just pick them up every time she comes to get her hair done,” Garrish laughed.

The salon, which had its grand opening in January, is located at 2003 W. 15^th St., in the Westgate strip mall, in Washington. For more information, call the salon at 252-975-BLUSH (2587).