By Brooke Shirley
Going on four years now, Project Give Back: Get Them Ready has offered free hair cuts to a select few students in Natchitoches Parish. This nonprofit back-to-school program was created in 2014 with the help of Natchitoches Parish School Board President Ralph Wilson. The students who qualify for the program are selected at random through recommendations from social service agencies, the public housing authorities, and school officials.
Tremaine “T-Weezy” Walker, Sylvester “Sly” Moss, and Marcus Addison are the barbers at Silhouette’s Barbershop and are the hometown heroes making all of this possible. They were able to assist over 30 families Aug. 13 by giving them the opportunity to send their child to school this year with a fresh new haircut. As the children arrived, they signed their name and were given “golden” tickets to keep track of who would hop in the barber’s chairs next. With the aid of friends and family there was a meal provided for the kids while they waited for their “new ‘dos.”
For Wilson, it doesn’t just stop there. In the years to come, he plans to try to incorporate an apprenticeship for kids who would like to become a barber. “I think it will be a great opportunity for young men who maybe want a future in the barbershop business,” he said.
Good to see this Brooke.
Project “Get them Ready!” is such a creative idea, and so well organized! I started life in Natchitoches long ago, live in NYC now, but enjoy keeping up with the “doings’ there through the JOURNAL, particularly inspiring stories like this one.
Very cool!!!