The 10th Annual Back to School Trimming/Hair Braiding Initiative Needs Your Help
The popular tenth annual back to school trimming and hair braiding drive by Inspiration Arts is scheduled to be held on August eighth and ninth at its usual location on Fabers Road Extension. Every year, hundreds of primary schools students get free haircuts or hair braids by a group of volunteers who would give of their time for the initiative. The brainchild of Brian Dena and Edmond Staine, the back to school drive also helps provides the children with much needed school bags and supplies. But COVID-19 has affected many homes and the anticipation is that more children will be seeking help. Today, Staine told News Five that due to the pandemic, they have lost some of their support. But they are not giving up and are making an appeal for contributions.
Edmond Staine
Edmond Staine, Co-Founder, Inspiration Arts
“We had huge plans to make it a larger event, a much grander event, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that a lot of people that use to help us are negatively affected, we have to find a way to see how we can broaden that and see how more people can come out to support us. We’re having a difficult time trying to secure as much school supplies. The entire event is already planned. We already have all the grounds covered, the tents, the bathroom is covered, the tables and chairs are covered. We actually have somebody making some masks for us because of the COVID-19 of course, we have to observe some social distancing and have some new protocols in the execution of the event for the day. But the main thing that we need right now and the main thing we always stress on is trying to get school supplies. So far, we had a thousand dollars donation from the Word at Work Ministries and that’s going directly to A & R and they are going to pick out some bags from there. That’s not enough because we are anticipating that more children will need help now because a lot of parents are not out of work, more than before. It is ironic because the year that we really need more help is the year that a lot of people are not in the position to help us to bridge that gap. So we are really hoping that we can have some kind of angel come in and just see how we can reach out to these kids and give them the school supplies.”
Last year, over three hundred and twenty students benefited from the initiative, surpassing the projected two hundred children they intended to help. It is expected that more children will show up this year. Anyone wanting to assist can contact Edmond Staine at 614-6710.
