By Elyse Wanshel, The Huffington Post
A barbershop in Michigan is getting a lot of buzz.
The Fuller Cut barbershop in Ypsilanti, Michigan gives $2 discounts to kids who read books aloud to their barbers while they’re getting their hair done.
And a lot of the time those two bucks go directly into the kids’ pockets.
“Parents love it and the kids … well, they like getting the two dollars back,” Ryan Griffin, the barber at the Fuller Cut who brought the discount program to the shop, told The Huffington Post with a laugh. “We get compliments from teachers all the time, too.”
The kids at the Fuller Cut don’t read any ol’ books, either. Because the shop caters to diverse communities, Griffin’s literary selection — which includes 75 to 100 rotating titles — has a very specific theme.
“All our books have positive images of African-Americans — whether it’s astronauts, athletes or writers,” Griffin said.
Though the idea of having kids read aloud to their barbers may seem novel, Griffin, who has been working at the shop for 20 years, told HuffPost that he didn’t think of it. He had heard about the concept, which has been embraced all over the country in places like Dubuque, Iowa, Houston, Texas and Columbus, Ohio, and just thought it was a cut above.
Inspired, the father of three began bringing in old books he had lying around the house and telling parents about the deal.
“And that’s just how it started. It wasn’t anything grand. I just wanted to be responsible,” he said. “I hope people reading this and feel the same way go to their barbershop or beauty salons and tell them about this program as well.”
Read more at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/barbershop-michigan-discount-kids-read-books_us_57fe5bffe4b0162c043921ca
