Photo credit: WBRC
For the third year, Robert Banks, sent kids in his community back to school with free haircuts and backpacks.
Banks, the manager at the Perfect Line Barber Shop in Ensley, Alabama, used his own money to fund a back to school event that provided 100 kids with free hair haircuts and backpacks filled with school supplies. “Their appearance matters,” Banks told WBRC. “The first day of school is the best day of school.”
He added: “In this community, we have a lack of education, high crime rate, so these children are our future. So if we can give to the children now, and let them see us giving back, when they get older, they’ll give back. It’ll be a cycle. It’ll be a transformation.”
Banks, who also gives free haircuts to kids who maintain an A average, wants to help the next generation reach their full potential, explaining: “I hope, one day that they might be a barber, or they might be a news anchor, or they might be a mayor.”
For Banks, the best part of the event is witnessing the kids’ reactions.
“Seeing the children smile out there playing, that makes my day right there. That’s all I need to do,” said Banks. “See that little smirk he just did right there? That’s all I need to see right there. That little smile.”