ROGERS — Two barbers and a hairdresser will give free haircuts Saturday and accept donations for the Samaritan Center in Rogers and Springdale.
Gary Townzen, barber and Rogers alderman, has hosted a free haircut day the Saturday before Christmas for more than two decades.
Beside accepting donations for haircuts, Townzen will offer free hamburgers and hot dogs with all the trimmings.
“It’s something we’ve done for years. It’s our Christmas tradition,” Townzen said.
Barber Vic Bradford and hairdresser Debbie Trammel also volunteer their time.
Money raised in the past was used to buy food from Feed the Children to give to Samaritan Center, Townzen said.
“We learned that the Samaritan Center could buy more food on its own,” Townzen said.
Debbie Rambo, executive director of Samaritan Center, said demands for the center’s services continue to grow.
“We have seen a large increase in our cafe use and snack packs for children. Our food pantry increase is about average, about a 10 percent increase per year,” Rambo said.
Townzen also publishes a calendar each year with proceeds going to the center.
The money the center gets each year from calendar sales and the free haircut day makes a big difference, Rambo said.
“We see on average 550 people a day at our cafes in Springdale and Rogers. We distribute about 5,500 snack packs to 93 schools in Arkansas, so we need all the help we can get. Gary is a hero to us at the center,” Rambo said.
Rambo buys much of the food for the center from the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank.
“When we buy food from the local food bank we help them and they help us, so that all the money Gary raises stays in our Northwest Arkansas community,” she said.
The barber shop will open at 8 a.m. Saturday. Free hamburgers and hot dogs will be served from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The shop, 104 S. First St., will remain open as long as there are customers, Townzen said.