KENT COUNTY, Mich — The FOX 17 and Lake Michigan Credit Union Pay it Forward Person of the Year is... Pam Westers!
Westers is the founder of Beautiful You by Profile, a nonprofit salon offering free wigs and complimentary salon services to women undergoing cancer treatment.
WATCH: Pam Westers accepts the Pay It Forward Person of the Year award
Westers opened the Comstock Park salon in 2014 after being inspired by a documentary about a similar space.
“My passion has always been to serve others and make women feel beautiful,” Westers said. “Making these women that are going through this feel just amazing and loved and cared for. It was just like, we just have to do this here.”
The first year, Westers said, the salon served eight women. Since then, more than 7,000 have received services.
“I don't think we've ever had to turn anybody away,” Westers said. “We do the wig fittings, the head shaves, all the different gifts that we give them, and the chemo bags.”
Clients credit the salon with helping to regain confidence and strength during treatment.
“Being here definitely gives you a sense of that you're still who you are before this happens,” said Karen Hopman, who is living with stage three ovarian cancer. "“It's a great place for you to just breathe and cry and do whatever you need to do here, because they'll just… they accept you the way you are, and it's wonderful.”
As the FOX 17 and Lake Michigan Credit Union Person of the Year, Westers receives a $5,000 prize.
“There's not a client that leaves without tears, and it's just amazing,” she said. “Week after week and month after month, it just it's exploding, and it's sad because there's a lot of cancer, but we're so happy that we are able to bring joy to women who are going through this.”
Pay It Forward
How this woman's salon helps cancer fighters feel beautiful
Beautiful You by Profile boutiques can be found in the following cancer centers:
Lemmen Holton Cancer Pavilion
145 Michigan Street NE Grand Rapids, MI
Susan P. Wheatlake Regional Cancer Center
4499 S. 220th Ave. Reed City, MI 49677
Richard J. Lacks Cancer Center The Boutique at Trinity Health
250 Cherry Street SE Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Visit the nonprofit's website to learn more.
To see more of the 2025 monthly winners and the FOX 17 Pay it Forward Awards Gala, click here.
Watch the full 2026 Pay It Forward Awards Gala below
Follow FOX 17: Facebook - X (formerly Twitter) - Instagram - YouTube