Dubuque, Iowa has a barber that’s willing to give children free haircuts. All the children have to do in return is read him a book.
Courtney Holmes went to a back to school event made for families to get ready for the school year. Armed with his barber equipment and some books, including comics, he got to work trimming and cutting hair for those that would sit down and read to him. He would even help those kids pronounce and understand words they didn’t know. This act of generosity has been titled “trims for tales” by others in the area.
Because of it’s success, Courtney Holmes is considering starting a monthly “trims for tales” event where children can come up to his shop and read to him in exchange for a free haircut. He doesn’t have any books and his salon, the Spark Salon, but he’s willing to bring books from his own house and others in the community have been donating books to the cause.
His hope for children is that with this program they will become more engaged with reading and be able to perform better in school because of it. With two children of his own, he knows that reading is essential for kids to do well in classes.