This Black-Owned Barbershop Provides Free Haircuts To Children Enrolled In Its Book Club

Antonio Brown worked at six barbershops and decided to open his own storefront.

ABC Action News reports he is the founder of Central Station Barbershop and Grooming in St. Petersburg, FL. The decision to open his own shop was driven by a desire to have ownership and forge a legacy.

“Seeing the things that were impacting our community, I understood the importance of ownership and entrepreneurship and different things like that,” he reflected, according to ABC Action News. “So, I wanted to step out on my own and build my own reputation and my own barbershop my way.”

For nine years Central Station Barbershop and Grooming has been making its mark in the community through services that include haircuts, beard trims, hot shaves, and facials for men and women.

“We have a safe space here,” Brown told the outlet. “This is a place where a barber and a client have an opportunity to have one-on-one time.”

The business is also attached to a higher calling. Per the business’ website, children can come to the shop from Monday to Saturday and participate in its book club, which was created in partnership with The Competitive Readers Coalition to increase literacy rates. For those enrolled in the program they will receive a free haircut with each free book, which adds up to 24 over a year.

“Reading is so important when it comes to understanding life, understanding what happens around you. Understanding the circumstances that you may be going through may be right in this book,” he told Tampa Bay Times.

The program has been impactful with 15,000 children enrolled and 15,000 books given away since its inception, according to WFLA News Channel 8.

Taking it a step further, with the money parents are saving from the haircut, they are encouraged to invest it directly into a Competitive Readers bank account “and watch it grow over the years,” the shop’s Facebook page states.

“When they get older they’ll always have that in the back of their minds that ‘somebody cared enough to pour into me and to give me things that will help me be successful in life,'” Brown expressed to WFLA.