KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Sport Clips Haircuts donated $650,000 to the Veterans of Foreign Wars today to help active duty U.S. service members and veterans further their education and reach post-military career goals. Through client and product partner donations, as well as Veterans Day contributions of $1 per haircut service, the franchise’s annual “Help A Hero” campaign was its most successful since the program began in 2007. Funds raised will benefit the VFW’s “Sport Clips Help A Hero Scholarship” program which is expected to provide more than 145 scholarships for the 2015-2016 academic year.
Sport Clips’ Help A Hero campaign started in support of the VFW’s Operation Uplink™ “Free Call Days” program and has made nearly 2.5 million calls home possible for deployed and hospitalized U.S. service members. Last year, Sport Clips expanded its Help A Hero focus to offer scholarships of up to $5,000 each to active duty military and veterans who wish to pursue college degrees and vocational certifications. To date, 137 Help A Hero Scholarships have supported military in returning to school.
“The benefits of these Help A Hero Scholarships are making a major difference in the lives of our nation’s heroes who are attending school and taking the next steps in advancing their futures. It’s really gratifying for me as a veteran, and for every Sport Clips team member, to know we’re a part of making college and civilian career training possible for these heroes,” says Sport Clips Founder and CEO Gordon Logan, a U.S. Air Force veteran and Lifetime Member of the VFW. “Being a part of their journey when they return home is just one of the ways Sport Clips will continue to say ‘thank you’ to our military.”
“As veterans, we know how difficult transitioning back into civilian life can be because we've been there,” said John Stroud, VFW’s commander-in-chief. “Our returning service members and veterans deserve every chance to be successful. The generosity and support Sport Clips’ team members, partners and clients provide through the Help A Hero Scholarship program is life-changing. Together, VFW and Sport Clips are giving more military families the chance to move forward and better their lives than we could have ever imagined.”
As a part of this year’s fundraising efforts, Sport Clips partners such as, Nioxin, and others contributed a total of $105,000 to the Help A Hero Scholarship campaign.
Sport Clips is the Official Haircutter of the VFW, and its Help A Hero campaign is just one of the many ways it supports active duty military and veterans. To find out more, visit your local Sport Clips or SportClips.com.
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About Sport Clips Haircuts
Sport Clips Haircuts is headquartered in Georgetown, Texas. It was established in 1993 and started franchising in 1995 by Founder and CEO Gordon Logan. The sports-themed haircutting franchise, which specializes in haircuts for men and boys, is ranked by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the top 20 “Fastest-Growing Franchises” and in the top 40 in the “Franchise 500.” There are currently over 1,200 Sport Clips stores open in the U.S. and Canada. Sport Clips is the “Official Haircutter” of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), offers veterans preferential pricing on haircuts and franchises, and was named as one of the “Top 50 Franchises for Veterans” by USA Today and in the top 5 by Military Times Magazine. Our “Help A Hero” program has raised more than $3 million to help deployed and hospitalized U.S. service members call home through the VFW’s Operation Uplink™ and to provide scholarships for veterans transitioning to a civilian career. Sport Clips is a proud sponsor of Joe Gibbs Racing’s NASCAR drivers Denny Hamlin and Elliott Sadler, and partners with numerous NCAA and professional sports teams. To learn more about Sport Clips, visit SportClips.com.