Name of Conference: Aerial World Tour
Host Organization: Aerial Company Inc.
Dates: April 1999-2002
Location: Milwaukee, WI

Objectives:
The business objectives of the Aerial World Tour were to educate hair professionals on new styles and services and showcase upcoming products and trends in the beauty industry. The community impact went far beyond the immediate purpose of the main event, through a series of annual outreach projects that took place long before corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives had become a popular feature of corporate meetings.
How Did It Change the World?
Aerial brought together a multicultural group of award-winning hair stylists from across the United States and arranged for them to provide hair, skin, and nail treatments for disadvantaged women.
“We worked with a local women’s organization to identify the women who participated in the program, and to track their progress afterwards,” recalled Janet Sperstad, CMP, now a program director at Madison Area Technical College. “The stylists helped educate the women on low-cost hair and skin techniques that would help them feel beautiful and increase their self-confidence.”
Why Did It Matter?
Beauty treatments may not always be the first opportunity that comes to mind when meeting professionals set out to change the world, but the Aerial program delivered powerful results. Sperstad said the treatments and advice the women received from the stylists increased their self-confidence and sense of self-worth, helping to reshape their attitudes about themselves and their world.
“Some of the women got jobs within three to six months,” she said, and many of them reported that the project left them with better family lives and outlooks.