LONGVIEW, Texas — A local nonprofit and barber wanted to give back to East Texans battling inflation by providing free haircuts to students.
Curtis Ford has been keeping the clippers steady for over a decade.
"I been cutting hair for 15 years," Ford said.
Ford is a Longview native who said he's always wanted to give back to his community.
"I know how it is to be a young kid wanting a haircut, everybody can't afford it so I just wanted to give back to the community," Ford said.
Inflation has impacted gas prices, groceries, rent, and even haircuts making the cost of a new-do too expensive for some.
"Times are hard, everything is up, even haircuts. Young women and men going to get their hair done is another price increase as well," said Brandon Smith, St. Luke Masonic Lodge #173.
St. Luke is a chartered nonprofit that promotes brotherly love and service to the community.
The nonprofit reached out to Ford to help students get a haircut completely free.
"We usually do backpack giveaways, but we noticed [what] many others we're [doing] in our community so we decided to switch it up this year," Smith said.
St. Luke and Mirror Mirror Hair Salon also provided food and drinks to the community.
"I started at 9 a.m. and ended up cutting 17 kids' hair," Ford said.
Ford said they were all surprised by the successful turnout.
Ford said he was happy to fulfill any request the client wanted.
"We had fades, we had tapers, some kids just wanted edge-ups," Ford said.
The nonprofit and Ford said they plan to continue the haircut giveaways throughout the year. For the latest information visit their Facebook page.