Annual "Help A Hero" Fundraiser at Sport Clips

You can “Help A Hero” take their next career step when you get a haircut at the Santee Sport Clips now through Veterans Day, November 11th.  More than 1,400 Sport Clips locations across the country will share the overall goal of raising $750,000 for this annual fundraising program that provides scholarships to active-duty service members and veterans.  The company has partnered with the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States since 2007, creating the VFW’s “Sport Clips Help A hero Scholarship” program in 2013 to help service members and veterans in the next chapter of their lives.  Each scholarship provides up to $5,000 of assistance to qualified individuals who have served in the military, are in need of financial assistance, and are pursuing an education at post-secondary institutions, including trade schools.

Donations to Help A Hero will be collected by Sport Clips stylists in-store and at local fundraising events.  Sport Cips will also hold The Biggest Haircut Day of the Year” on Veterans Day, when each store will donate a dollar from every haircut service to the VGFW-administered scholarship program.

“We can really do something here in Santee to make career goals a reality for our nation’s heroes.  Donations of any amount are appreciated and will make it possible for Sport Clips and the VFW to continue to award scholarships for veterans to further their education and make the next move in their civilian lives,” says Terry Klinker, the owner of the Santee Sport Clips.  “More than $1.1 million in Help A Hero scholarships are already assisting veterans who are in school right now.  I’m hoping everyone in this area will join us in this efforts, especially since Santee has been among the top dozen fundraising stores nationally, since we opened in 2009.”

“America’s service member are sacrificing time apart from their loved ones, only to be faced with a tough job market and the harsh reality of unemployment when they return home,” said VFW National Commander John A. Biedrzycki Jr., a former education and University of Pittsburgh graduate.  “The Help A Hero Scholarship is essential to helping the VFW ensure returning servicemen and women have the necessary tools available to successfully transition to civilian life, ultimately achieving their educational and career goals.”