Sanctuary Spa and Salon Endowed Scholarship
Sanctuary Spa and Salon was created in 1998 as a dream of owner Kris Carpenter. Born and raised in Billings, Montana, Kris traveled and gathered ideas and treatments to create a sanctuary to care for women. “I believe women are the care givers of the world and I wanted to create a place to care for them,” she said. Everything Sanctuary does is to personify their mission statement, “We take care of you.” Their relationship with the Billings community is very important to them. At Sanctuary, they made a decision to offer their support through donations, rather than spend dollars in traditional advertising. All team members participate in charitable outreach volunteerism as part of their employment. Leading by example, Kris is currently serving on the MSU Billings Local Executive Board, as a trustee of the Yellowstone Art Museum, and is a past board member of the YWCA. In 2012, to show their support for MSU Billings and the Opportunity Campaign for MSU Billings Scholarships, Kris and her husband, Larry, established the Sanctuary Spa and Salon Scholarship Endowment to provide scholarship assistance to non-traditional female students attending MSU Billings. The first scholarship was awarded in academic year 2016-2017.
Impact
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for funding the Sanctuary Spa and Salon Endowed Scholarship. I am honored to have been chosen as a recipient of this generous contribution. I started my education late in life after having a family at a young age and wanted to prove to myself and to my children that one is never too old to achieve their goals. A college education was something I had always wanted to accomplish… This scholarship will allow me to continue my studies at MSU Billings. Thank you for your support and efforts in helping me to achieve my goals.” — Julie C., Applied Science major