West Chester resident Chaz Dean, founder of the WEN brand of hair-care products, has donated $500,000 to Love is Louder, a project of the Jed Foundation. The New York-based group focuses on preventing suicide among college students and promoting emotional well-being.

Dean’s donation was inspired by years of being relentlessly bullied as a child, detailed  in a Wall Street Journal story about Dean and his generous donation.

Dean, who lives in both West Chester and California, said he credits WEN’s success to at least one life lesson learned during middle school: Don’t hold on to anger and sadness. Read the full story here.

Dean owned an upscale celebrity salon in Bel Air, Ca., and in 1993 created the WEN five-in-one Cleansing Conditioner to replace shampoo, conditioner, deep conditioner, detangler and leave-in conditioner. Brooke Shields is the firm’s newest celebrity ambassador.
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Top photo credit: Love is Louder Rock via photopin (license)