Education

Hair Cuttery offers "Buy One, Give One" Share-a-Haircut

ORLANDO, Fla. — Hair Cuttery, the largest family owned and operated chain of hair salons in the country, expects to donate up to 100,000 back-to-school haircut certificates - a total of $1.6 million - in this year's Share-a-Haircut program. This is the 14th year of the program, the only one of its kind in the nation. Since the program's launch in 1999, Hair Cuttery has donated more than 700,000 free haircut certificates to kids in need.

“Share-a-Haircut is about the ritual of preparing for a new school year,” said Dennis Ratner, Founder and CEO of Hair Cuttery. “A new haircut symbolizes a new start and new possibilities. We want kids to associate feeling good about themselves with getting ready for back to school.”

Hair Cuttery surveyed* moms of school-aged children on self-esteem and school performance and found:

  • 88 percent of moms believe haircuts help their child feel good and more confident about themselves;
  • 86 percent of moms say that having more confidence allows their child to perform better in school;
  • And nearly four in ten moms believe a haircut boosts their child's performance in school.

“Having been a stylist my entire life, I understand the impact a fresh new haircut can have on someone’s self-esteem,” said Ratner. “I love seeing the look on a child’s face when they first check-out their haircut in the mirror. They walk out of the salon with a little extra pep in their step. That extra confidence can make a big difference to children as they start the new school year.

A free haircut can go a long way for any family, especially those in need. According to The National Retail Federation last year, the average cost of back-to-school spending for kindergarten through 12th grade is $688.

New this year, haircuts can be donated via a blog widget. Follow the conversation on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #shareahaircut.