On September 22nd, Wahl Clipper Corporation’s Professional division and Chicago social service organization UCAN awarded full scholarships to four students to attend Larry’s Barber College as part of the Wahl Professional Fade it Forward program.
The innovative program provides mentorship and support to at-risk youth with the goal of helping them achieve their dreams of becoming professional barbers and entrepreneurs.
The four students selected to receive scholarships from the Sterling, IL-based clipper manufacturer are Amari Brown, Brandon Williams, Dakota Newton-Powell, and Colby Taylor.
The students arrived at UCAN not knowing that Wahl Education and Artistic Team (W.E.A.T.) member, Garland “G-Whiz” Fox, and Wahl Professional’s National Director of Education, Lisa Finucane, would be there to surprise and welcome them to the Wahl family. Fox and Finucane gave each student a gift bag of Wahl Professional tools and other Wahl Professional items in addition to the scholarships.
Before beginning classes at Larry’s Barber College, Brown, Williams, Newton-Powell, and Taylor completed a four-week mentorship program with professional barbers in the Chicago area. The goal of the mentorship program was to support and teach each student the importance of hard work and the dedication needed to become a barber.
“It is incredible to know that we are already onto our second class of Fade It Forward™ students here in Chicago. This program was designed to help youth who just need the opportunity to get out of their current situations and further change the trajectory of their lives, like becoming a barber did for me,” says Fox.
The Fade It Forward program has started its second year in Chicago, IL and will soon begin its first year in St. Louis, MO, with plans underway to begin in Cleveland, OH in 2021.
To learn more about the Fade It Forward program go to wahlpro.com/education/fadeitforward