Getting your kids ready for the school season doesn’t need to cost a fortune, thanks to Tru Cutz Barbershop’s “Go Back Tru” event. The event, now in its the ninth year, will provide free haircuts to local students from pre-K to 12th grade on Monday, September 1, and Tuesday, September 2, from 10am-8pm.
“This annual event goes back to when we first opened Tru Cutz Barbershop in 2016,” says owner and master barber Lamont Washington. “That very first year, we wanted to do something meaningful for the kids in our community, so we gave out free back-to-school haircuts. It was simple at first, but it quickly grew into something much bigger than we ever imagined.”
Now, Go Back Tru has grown to offer not only boys’ haircuts, but cuts for girls, too, thanks to a partnership with Callista & Co. Salon, as well as backpacks full of school supplies and even cell phones, an offering made possible through a collaboration with Cricket. “Our neighbor, Five Points [now The Counter at Five Points] donates food every year, while Dirty Dog Inc. has volunteered their time cooking for the kids,” Washington says. “Saratoga Water has donated drinks for families waiting in line. The point is, the community has truly rallied behind this and turned it into a real celebration of Saratoga.”
While local (and national) businesses have stepped up to help the cause, Washington credits local community member Kimberly Galvin Janelle for much of the event’s success. She was one of the first to support what Tru Cutz was doing, and went out to purchase backpacks and fill them herself for some of the early events. She’d even hang around and sweep the shop floor while the barbers gave haircuts. Last October, Kimberly passed away after a battle with cancer.
“She sent us one last message on Facebook a couple of months before,” Washington says. “She wrote, ‘I don’t know if you know how sick I am. I just wanted to let you all know how proud I am of you! Look how far you’ve come since the first back-to-school days!!!! Be happy, stay grateful and work hard and the sky is the limit for you!!!!!’ Now, every year, we vow to keep this event alive in her honor.”
Go Back Tru is open to any kid who needs it—just swing by the 45 Park Place shop on Monday or Tuesday. Want to support the cause? Donate through the barbershop’s GoFundMe page.
