Kids who read to their barber in a Michigan shop are getting more than a haircut — their bill is being trimmed, too.
At the Fuller Cut in Ypsilanti, kids get a $2 discount if they read a book aloud to their barber.
"It's an amazing thing," Keith Jason told NPR as he watched his sons Jozef and Josiah reading while their hair was being styled.
"It's helping my pockets, it's helping their education, and it's helping prepare a better future for them, so I love it."
Normally, a haircut for the boys would cost $11 apiece, according to the Fuller Cut website. But when the boys read aloud, the price drops to $9.
The price cut was the idea of barber Ryan Griffin, who has been cutting hair at the Fuller Cut for 20 years. Griffin told NPR that he first read about a similar program in the Harlem section of New York City, so he asked shop owner Alex Fuller if he could do the same. Several residents donated books, and the program took off.
We get complimented by teachers that will say it does so much for these kids throughout the school year," Griffin told NPR.
"Any help these kids can get with reading and ... comprehension is a big thing,” he said. “You know, maybe someday some kid will grow up and be a journalist, be a writer, and he'll say, 'You know what, when I was young, my barber used to make me read.' "
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