Talk is cheap, but it will always be worth more than money. A barber from Dubuque, Iowa recognized this and set out to do his part to celebrate it in a positive way. When the yearly “Back to School Bash” began set up in Comiskey Park, barber Courtney Holmes, decided to take off a day of work to do his part in helping the community by setting up a booth to cut hair. This annual event hosted by the community is dedicated to helping parents and students prepare for the upcoming school year. Holmes, a father of two young boys, decided to encourage literacy among the youth of his community, recognizing the value of education over the value of money. Instead of a cash payment, children were encouraged to bring, or choose, a book and read to Holmes as he cut their hair.
The barber then encouraged the kids to sound out words they did not know and explain the story to him afterwards. Most of the books were donated by Holmes himself but since the start of the event and the spread of his involvement, many people and organizations have donated books to him in order to keep kids reading and encourage this healthy practice. Holmes reveals that his day started off with a line of about four kids and quickly spread to nearly twenty. At the end of the day, over one hundred haircuts were given, but there were about ten children who had not yet received theirs. Holmes responded to this group by giving them a voucher to come see him at his shop the next day to receive the same treatment as the other kids. Overall, the community was very supportive of the event and the Iowa barber looks forward to participating in the event next year.
