Barber offers free haircuts for children ahead of the school year

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG/Gray News) - An Ohio salon is helping kids look their best as they head back to the classroom this school year.

Barbers at CrysStyles Hair Salon offered $5 haircuts to children last year before the new school year.

It was such a hit, they brought it back for year two. But this time, there was a special surprise.

“I just want everybody to have a good school year. Make it great,” Marcus Taylor Bey, master barber at CrysStyles Hair Salon, told WTVG.

Bey said he had a strong turnout at last year’s $5 haircut day, so he called in reinforcements this year.

Megan Healy, a Toledo-area barber who goes by the name Megatron the Barber, was one of those who showed up.

“Last year, they said they had so many kids and were like, ‘Would you help me? Would you want to come help me and my brother?’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, sure, why not. What else am I doing on a Sunday?” she said.

For Johnny Layne, who has four children, the discounted haircuts are a big help.

“With four kids, you figure that’s $120. It’s a real good thing they’re doing for the community,” Layne said.

According to Bey, their goal is to help kids and parents get ready for the new school year.

“We just basically wanted to give back to the community as much as we can,” Bey said. “We provide a $5 haircut so everyone will feel that sense of refreshment going into school. They feel good, they got a nice cut, they look good.”

And because of all of the donations the salon received, all of the haircuts were free.

“Some people might have the money, some people don’t have the money. I think it’s a good thing,” Layne said.

The barbers said it’s not about the money, it’s about the reactions from kids and their families.

“When people are excited about their haircuts, especially kids, it just transforms who they are and that’s the best part,” Healy said. “That’s the best part about being a barber is seeing them happy.”

Bey said his goal is to be able to do this every year.

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