When Acia Williams willingly donated one of her kidneys to her friend and mentor, Chet Bennett, she never asked for anything in return. So she was pleasantly surprised when Bennett decided to gift her with the very hair salon she used to manage for years to thank her for her selfless act. Williams is now the owner of the salon she renamed A New Image By Acia.
Over the past 20 years, Williams and Bennett have been good friends. It began when Williams attended the beauty college that Bennett owns to start her career. Their friendship continued even further when he hired her as the manager of one of his hair salons in Washington, DC.
In 2018, Williams was saddened when she found out through Bennett's Facebook post that he was undergoing dialysis and in need of a new kidney. A lot of people commented that they are willing to give one of their kidneys, but finding a match for Bennett became difficult.
Williams decided to also fill out the application to donate one of hers. When a nurse messaged her to confirm that she's a match, she did not think twice and she immediately went on to get all the necessary tests to make sure she's a healthy donor before having the transplant surgery last April 2019.
According to CNN, Bennett told Williams, "I can't begin to thank you enough for you giving me life, but we can start with you making your dream a reality by having your own salon."
During their recovery, Bennett, who has always been supportive of Williams' dream to open her own salon, told her that he was going to give her one of his salons. He could have let Williams buy the salon he owned, which was her first plan, but he was so grateful for his second chance in life that he gifted the salon to her.
For more details, visit A New Image By Acia at 705 Florida Avenue NW Washington, DC or follow Acia Williams on Facebook. The hair salon can also be reached at 202-808-8925.