GADSDEN COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) — Nine months. That's how long since Hurricane Michael made first made landfall and affected the lives of thousands of people in our community, especially for families having to provide for multiple children.
Gadsden County non-profits are helping kids prepare to go back to school by making sure they look their best.
It's a back to school drive, with a twist.
They were a little camera shy but very eager to get in the barber's chair. Kids in Chattachoochee showed up to make sure their hair is on point for that first day of school.
For this community still struggling after Michael, the help could not have come at a better time.
Normally Dexter Wright works as a barber at First Class Cuts in Gretna. Monday, he and his chair are on location at the Chattahoochee Rec Center.
"Making sure the young fellas go to school and go to school looking presentable so that they don't have to worry about anybody teasing them about the haircuts or about their appearance," Dexter said.
It's been a tough time for families in this community since hurricane Michael hit last October.
"Because of the hurricane, it's been really devastating but we're going to pull through it," Dexter asserted.
We've all heard the saying: When you look good, you feel good. Organizers hope students carry that into the classroom.
"When you look sharp and you you look good, you do good in school," said Johhnie McWhite. "So that's why we want to promote them. For little girls to look like princesses and guys to look like kings."
Lydia Thomas is on braid duty. She knows firsthand how it feels to have to do without.
"I wanted to come and help out because I know how it is not to have and I don't ever want any child to go somewhere else and don't have," said Thomas. "I believe all girls are precious and they should look the best."
The Dr. Martin Luther King Committee is also giving out hygiene kits, school uniforms and other supplies to the kids as part of the back to school drive.
