New hairdo for school: Hundreds of children get hair cut at annual event

Published 8:02 pm Sunday, August 12, 2018

Hundreds of kids sat in chairs at the William Griggs Recreation Center Sunday afternoon, waiting their turn as barbers and stylists from around Troup County cut hair for free during the 11th annual Haircutz and Stylez for Kidz.

“It’s important to help the community,” said barber Craig Davis, who has participated in the event since it first started. “This helps the kids and helps the people who really need it. It gives back.”

Children of all ages got new hairdos, from 3-year-olds to high schoolers. There was also food available and music playing to put everyone in a good mood.

“It’s always important to give back because a lot of folks aren’t fortunate enough to go to the salon and get their hair done,” said Tia Brooks, who owns a salon in LaGrange and is about to open another in West Point.

Michael Fannin started the event after moving to LaGrange. He taught in the Troup County School System until this year, when he moved to Atlanta.

Fannin said the event has grown year by year to the point where he was expecting more than 200 children to show up on Sunday.

“It’s overwhelming, but it’s a good overwhelming to know people came out in support and came out to volunteer,” Fannin said. “It’s a great feeling to see all the neon yellow shirts.”

Fannin said he plans to keep the event going, even though he moved out of LaGrange this summer.

“It runs itself at this point,” Fannin said. “All I have to do is reach out to them, the barbers and beauticians. They make it [what it is]. I just add a little music and add a little food.”