Look Good, Feel Good, Do Good!
Spreading love & building confidence through a fresh & free haircut!
About Us
Our Mission
Our Mission
Our Mission
Haircuts For Those In Need is a 501c3 nonprofit located in Buffalo New York. We build up confidence and self esteem through good hair.
You know how great you feel after a fresh haircut! Its that feeling magnified for our guests who haven't had a haircut in quite some time due to financial struggles or being unhoused.
We believe when you l
Haircuts For Those In Need is a 501c3 nonprofit located in Buffalo New York. We build up confidence and self esteem through good hair.
You know how great you feel after a fresh haircut! Its that feeling magnified for our guests who haven't had a haircut in quite some time due to financial struggles or being unhoused.
We believe when you look good, you feel good, and when you feel good the opportunities are endless!
Our goal is to raise enough funds to cover our insurance, website costs, supplies, and to save for a mobile haircutting bus fully equipped like a salon.
Attaining this goal will help us to provide a full service experience for our guests by providing hair washing to promote better scalp health, private showers available for guests to promote skin health, and an ergonomic work environment for our barbers and stylists. A mobile haircutting bus will help us to serve more of the Western New York communities in need more efficiently. Please consider making a donation today to help us maintain operational costs and to save for a mobile unit
Our History
Our Mission
Our Mission
Haircuts For Those In Need was founded in May of 2018 by Charlene Thomas. Char was volunteering giving out food with a group called Buffalo's Good Neighbors. Every Sunday at Fireman's Park in downtown Buffalo between the bus station and the baseball stadium they would provide food to roughly 100 unhoused or in need individuals.
Char saw th
Haircuts For Those In Need was founded in May of 2018 by Charlene Thomas. Char was volunteering giving out food with a group called Buffalo's Good Neighbors. Every Sunday at Fireman's Park in downtown Buffalo between the bus station and the baseball stadium they would provide food to roughly 100 unhoused or in need individuals.
Char saw the desperate need of haircuts for our friends down in the park. Months later in the middle of winter she took a poll to see if anyone would be interested. Almost everyone said "Yes! I could use a free haircut!".
May 6th of 2018 , Haircuts For Those In Need provided their first free haircuts! Char posted on her social media pages asking for fellow cosmetologist and barber volunteers to help us give free haircuts to our community!
We needed supplies though, and we needed a lot of them! Char started thinking of all the things we needed and how can we follow NYS cosmetology/barber guidelines in a park.
It was decided then that disposable capes and towels would be needed as we were going to be giving out approximately 100 haircuts!
We would wear a new set of gloves for each person. A new comb, brush, hair picks, clips would be used per person and we would let them keep what was used on their hair. That way, they were able to upkeep their hair by having something to keep it untangled.
Each tool and non disposables that would be used would need to be disinfected too! Spray clippercide and barbicide wipes would do the trick! We would need a generator or cordless tools. We would need tents to keep us dry and out of the sun, folding chairs for guests to sit while we cut their hair, tables to place our supplies. Oh ya! Water bottles, leave in conditioner spray, no rinse shampoo, alcohol wipes, and seabreeze were needed too! Of course we would need totes to store everything in as well! It was quite the operation, and still is!
Char provided quite a bit of the supplies out of her own expenses. Then decided she cannot do this on her own. She made posts on social media asking for specific donations and so many gracious people came through!
Since 2018, we have provided 60-100 haircuts each month, and sometimes even more!
In May of 2019, Char had a small fundraiser at her salon. We raised money for supplies, insurance, and enough money to cover the cost of 501c3 status! In September of 2019 we were legally deemed a 501c3 nonprofit!
That is our story of how we came to be! The need was scene and action was taken!
Volunteers
Donations Needed
Donations Needed
We are always in need of licensed barbers and cosmetologists to donate their time giving free haircuts to those who cannot afford one in our Western New York community. We can't do this without you!
We can provide everything you would need! We only need a copy of your NYS barber or cosmetology license and a little bit of your time.
If this
We are always in need of licensed barbers and cosmetologists to donate their time giving free haircuts to those who cannot afford one in our Western New York community. We can't do this without you!
We can provide everything you would need! We only need a copy of your NYS barber or cosmetology license and a little bit of your time.
If this sounds like something you would be interested in please contact us for more information!
We not only make people look good, we build their confidence and make them feel good too!
Not a hairstylist or barber? That's OK! You can serve as an assistant by sweeping hair, disinfecting tools, and chatting with our guests!
Join our Facebook volunteer group to stay up to date on our current needs!
https://www.facebook.com/share/k21B5q1mPKFUpTRn/?mibextid=C7JYKg
Donations Needed
Donations Needed
Donations Needed
The way we have been operating since 2018 is not conducive to our stylists and barbers in many ways.
We don't have hydraulic chairs because we travel to different locations. We cut hair on basic folding chairs, bending, hunching, squatting to cut hair. This is extremely hard on our barbers and stylists bodies but we do it for the need.
We'
The way we have been operating since 2018 is not conducive to our stylists and barbers in many ways.
We don't have hydraulic chairs because we travel to different locations. We cut hair on basic folding chairs, bending, hunching, squatting to cut hair. This is extremely hard on our barbers and stylists bodies but we do it for the need.
We're not able to wash hair as we don't have the capability of having portable hair washing stations. Most times we don't have running water or the means to transport sinks. We can provide haircuts, but we can't maintain someone's scalp health. All we have is no rinse shampoo, but that doesn't do anything when people have days and months of buildup on their scalp.
Most of our guests are living on the street and don't have access to showers to maintain skin health.
We desperately need a mobile haircutting bus. Large enough to fit 5 haircutting stations, a hair washing sink, and a private shower for guests who need it to use.
We are seeking any donations possible to make this dream a reality. A mobile haircutting unit would allow us to travel more efficiently to more neighborhoods, protect our stylists physical well-being by having the proper equipment needed to cut hair, and we would be able to help our guests physical health by providing hair washing and shower foe them to use.
Any donation can be made through our Venmo, PayPal, checks can be made out to Haircuts For Those In Need and sent to 484 Connecticut Street Buffalo NY 14213.
If you would like to donate supplies, please check out our Amazon wish list!
Click below to donate today!
Fundraiser Tickets
Join us for an evening of laughter and giving back at our 2nd Annual Fundraiser Comedy Show!
All proceeds from the evening will support Haircuts For Those In Need's operational costs and go towards our exciting new project: a mobile hair cutting unit!
The evening will be filled with food, drinks, dancing, and of course, lots of laughter! It's a night you don't want to miss!
Sponsors & basket donations needed.
Please contact us for more information.