After a decade of hosting a charity event providing free haircuts and school supplies, Dave Lawrence from That 50's Barber Shop is planning a major expansion to the yearly event. (Fresh Start on Facebook)

By Jordan Davidson

fresh expansion

Nanaimo campaign providing a ‘Fresh Start’ to kids teams up with national charity

Sep 22, 2024 | 6:58 AM

NANAIMO — A local barber is teaming up with a non-profit to help remove barriers to help kids reach their full potential.

Dave Lawrence, owner of That’s 50’s Barber Shop on Victoria Cres., has been hosting the Fresh Start campaign for a decade now, providing school supplies and haircuts free of charge for those who need them.

Lawrence said they’ve partnered with Kids International Development Society (K.I.D.S.), a charity which helps kids all over the world, allowing for larger and more regular donations for “Fresh Start”.

“They wanted to focus on something a little bit more local. They will go to Cambodia, and similar to Fresh Start, raise a bunch of supplies and things and take them there. They just want to help out a little bit more locally, so that’s when one of my customers just said to them, ‘hey you should check out Dave and his charity’, and they did, and they said that’s great.”

Representatives from K.I.D.S. attended the Aug. 25 Fresh Start event at Nanaimo’s Country Club Centre, where over 275 kids came through for free haircuts and back-to-school gear.

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They were impressed with what they saw and are working with Lawrence to greatly expand the scope of the event, potentially adding other items for youth like bicycles or sports equipment and fees.

“The way they’re talking is expanding it and growing it so that Fresh Start isn’t maybe just a Nanaimo thing, but we could do Fresh Start in other towns on the Island in Port Alberni or Campbell River, or even expand to the mainland or all over the province, who knows.”

Donations to Fresh Start will be possible through the K.I.D.S. website, which will allow them to receive larger donations, and provide to option for a regular monthly donation as well.

While still in the early stages of the partnership, Lawrence said things are moving quickly, and they’re looking to find a local storage space so they can collect donations year-round.

“My whole team is just beyond excited, it’s just helping it grow and change and just really morph into something way bigger than we initially planned, and it’s just great.”

More information can be found on That 50’s Barber’s Facebook page.

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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow