Free haircuts bring community together
A Shropshire town hosted a unique event at the weekend which brought the whole community together for one simple goal.
Donna Miles runs Bowring Park Cafe in Wellington, and the free haircuts were her idea to help people in need.
She said: "I decided I wanted to do this, as at the moment I know people are struggling financially, or maybe for whatever reason they don't feel comfortable going and sitting in a hairdresser.
"I definitely feel that 'there but for the grace of God go I'. It's just about helping people out, and we saw 28 people today."
"They were quite happy to sit and wait their turn. It was a cold day and blowing a gale, and I gave them all a hot drink and a goody bag donated by Scrumptious Soaks. It was a really great atmosphere, people were chatting, saving each other's place in the queue when they went to get a drink."
Donna at the cafe does a whole range of other community-spirited things with the support of her customers. In the run up to Christmas she will be organising donations of presents for families in the town. For the haircuts, she put a call out on Facebook and fellow Wellington resident Joanna Turner responded.
Joanna, from Golden Scissors, became the hairdresser in residence at the event.
She said: "For a lot of people it is more than just a haircut. If they don't socialise well because of anxiety, or they have been isolating due to Covid-19, this was a little bit of time for them.
"One lady I saw spoke about her own anxiety, and I think Covid-19 has definitely made that worse.
"I also saw a lot of families today too, and for them it is so rare to get the chance to go and have haircuts together.
"For others it might be a financial burden too that stops them going to a hairdresser. I know of one woman who hasn't treated herself to a visit for a couple of years because as a mother she puts everyone else in the family first."
The event is set to be repeated after the rousing success of the first.
