The Andis Foundation announced a continued partnership with the Milwaukee Bucks through the Barbershop Mondays program. The effort connects at-risk youth with barbers for a free haircut and provides an opportunity for engaging mentorship with individuals who live and work in the same community.
With the success of the initiative last year, the Andis Foundation, the Milwaukee Bucks & community partner Safe & Sound will expand to eight events over the next four months in the Milwaukee and Racine neighborhoods; activating pop-up barbershops, powered by Andis, to provide space for community building.
“The Andis Foundation is excited to continue our partnership with the Milwaukee Bucks for our 2020 Barbershop Mondays program,” said Laura Andis Bishop, Co-President of Andis Company. “This innovative program shines a light on the important role that neighborhood barbershops play in their communities – providing a safe place for young men to gather and talk about issues with a positive and trusted role model – their barber.”
Through Barbershop Mondays powered by Andis, community rooms in Milwaukee and Racine neighborhoods transform into pop-up barbershops, offering free haircuts to young men between the ages of 10-23. Facilitated by Safe & Sound, these eight sessions are more than just a haircut as the barbershop chairs provide the casual setting for open communication and dialogue among attendees. The focus of these discussions is building social and emotional confidence, leadership and how youth can develop positive mentor relationships.
“The Bucks are proud to team up with Andis to support and participate in Safe & Sound’s barbershop conversations,” said Bucks Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility Arvind Gopalratnam. “Safe & Sound’s work in our community is some of the most important being done to provide outlets and opportunities for youth to have their voices heard. Through our engagement, we hope we can bring more visibility not only to these youth but the challenges they are facing each day.”
Barbershop Mondays tipped off this week at the Neighborhood House in Milwaukee with seven more events slated through April. More information on these events will be shared at a later date.