Springfield barbers give kids free haircuts for annual back-to-school initiative

Springfield barbers gave out free haircuts, backpacks, and other school supplies on Wednesday for a community event created to get kids excited about going back to school.

Kyreem Kynard, a barber at Wake Up barbershop, was at the Rebecca Johnson school gym at 8:30 a.m. until well past 11 a.m. cutting and trimming elementary and middle school kids hair, free of charge. Kynard said it's about more than just cutting their hair.

"I like to engage with the children," Kynard said. "I like to ask them, how old are they, what they want to be when they get older and what grade are they excited about in school. You'd be surprised the conversations that these kids have. They're very smart."

Clarence Smith, owner of the Final Touch barbershop, and LaMar Cook, a community leader in Springfield, organized 15 local barbers including Kynard to give the free haircuts.

The event is for kids ages 6-14, but Smith said some teenagers and college students came in need of a haircut.

"They were not turned away. Everyone who showed up got their hair cut. Everyone who wanted it," Smith said.

Cook said the entire gym was packed. He believes they served about 200 young people. Cook said he remembers when this event was just an idea spawned during "barbershop talk" seven years ago.

"A few of us were in the shop getting haircuts and just talking about how we can give back and what we could do for our community. And that spawned into a day of just closing the shop down and giving out free haircuts for everyone that walked into the shop for back to school," Cook said.

This year, they had a mobile arcade, shaved ice, and other activities for the kids to enjoy after their cuts.