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.
Courtney Holmes gives a trim while hearing a story. Image by Mike Burley/Telegraph Herald via The Associated Press.
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.
Yes, Holmes! I love it.
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.
