Alpha Kappa Lambda chapter hosts event to give free back-to-school haircuts

CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. (WDBJ) - A non-profit organization is giving free back-to-school haircuts to students.

Organizers want kids in the NRV to start the first day of school with a new look. Parents signed in ready for their kids’ new looks for the start of the school year.

Bethany Stewart has four boys waiting to get their fresh cut.

“This is our third year, and we love it; we come back every year,” says Stewart. “It saves us so much money. We have four boys, so getting their haircuts cost us $100 each.”

Barbers and beauticians in Southwest Virginia donated their time to give free back-to-school haircuts. The alumni chapter of Alpha Kappa Lambda put on the event.

“We recognize that haircuts cost a lot,” says Alpha Kappa Lambda chapter President Kendall Pete, “Some of the families that we’ve seen have multiple children in the household. So, I can only imagine what they are for younger kids, even if it’s $20.”

Pete says feedback from last year helped broaden the outreach.

“We saw a lot of young girls come in and they might have gotten their ends clipped, but we were like, ‘they might have wanted to get something different done as well,” added Pete.

Donna Spicer is the owner of Miss Donna’s Hair Salon. She says when kids feel like they look good, they focus more on their studies.

“A lot of kids get bullied because of the way that they look. And I want to if I can change that, then I will,” explained Spicer. “When they do this, to when they do like this and they’re good to go. That’s the tell-tale sign.’’

“It helps us as parents. Obviously, $100 every time is a huge savings,” stated Stewart. “But it also helps them feel confident. So they’re going to school, they know they have a haircut that looks good, they know that they have somebody cut it that they like, they enjoy being around and that they know what they’re doing, and so when their hair grows out it’s not going to look funky.”

Stewart says her oldest child only trusts a barber from Cut Nice, Mike, to cut his hair.

“They have mixed hair so it’s a different texture style, and you can’t just go anywhere,” explained Stewart. “It’s really nice to just be able to bring them here where their barbers already are to save us that money.”

Pete encourages families to use this as an opportunity to cut costs for back-to-school shopping.

“We don’t want folks to feel like it’s charity. It’s just something we want to do, to help folks out,” added Pete.

If you missed the chance to get a free haircut, there’s another chance Monday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.

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