A story worthy of bringing me out of my writing doldrums.  For the longest time people of color were told across dinner tables throughout this country, America, that in order for them to make it, be accepted, achieve their dreams, goals, aspirations they had to learn the language.  It’s gratifying to see that that’s still practiced by some who might not be sitting in dining rooms but rather in barber shops.

A barber gave free haircuts to kids, but first they had to read him a story.

 

On Aug. 8, 2015, barber Courtney Holmes decided to take a different approach to his work for the day.

It was during his community’s second annual Back to School Bash in Dubuque, Iowa’s Comiskey Park, an event in which community partners and organizations help get kids and families off on the right feet for the upcoming school year.

Holmes, from the Spark Family Hair Salon, knew exactly how to contribute.

He decided to give his hair-cutting services away for free.

There was one catch: The kids had to read him a story to get their free haircuts.

No strings attached … just words!

Holmes told the Telegraph Herald that his A+ back-to-school move was because he wanted to support the kids learning to read.

“I just want to help out the kids, help out the community, make sure the kids are able to read a book and get a nice haircut for school,” he said.

What a great reason. Exchanging a story for a trim? It’s a small gesture that can go such a long way.

“The idea [of the Back to School Bash] is to connect people to people and people to resources,” said Anderson Sainci, coordinator of the bash. “It helps all of us to reach our full potential.”

It’s great to see communities coming together to support each other, especially during back-to-school time.

It’s great to see communities coming together no matter what the reason, but around these kinds of moments where money and resources might be tight, it’s helping hands like this that can make a big difference.

And it is, indeed, how we can all help each other reach our full potential.