$1.3M donated by Sport Clips Haircuts for VFW Help A Hero Scholarships for veterans

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Jan 24, 2024, 13:15 ET

Free haircuts for veterans offered at check presentation event

KANSAS CITY, Mo., Jan. 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Sport Clips Haircuts presented a check to the VFW Foundation for $1.3M toward veterans' scholarships and offered free haircuts to veterans today. The donation event was held at VFW Post 7397 in Lenexa, Kansas, and marks the eighth year in a row of donating more than $1M for the Sport Clips VFW Help A Hero Scholarship program. Administered by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Help A Hero has grown to be the largest scholarship program of its kind, offering service members and veterans support for education often needed in post-military careers. In addition, we're pleased to announce that 175 scholarships totaling nearly $800,000 were awarded by the VFW for the spring 2024 semester.

Sport Clips Haircuts donates $1.3M to Help A Hero for veterans’ scholarships. (L - R) Edward Logan, Sport Clips Haircuts CEO and president; VFW National Commander Duane Sarmiento and Sport Clips Haircuts Founder and Chairman, Air Force veteran and VFW Life member, Gordon Logan.

"It is important to us as a company to thank and support our veterans who have done so much for us. We understand that additional training and education are often needed by our veterans to have a successful civilian career, and we saw an opportunity to help with this. Our Help A Hero scholarships are one way Sport Clips team members, clients and product partners help us express our gratitude to them for protecting our freedoms. By helping provide for the future education and success of those who've served, we can make a meaningful difference in many of their lives and for their families," said Gordon Logan, Air Force veteran, VFW Life member and founder and chairman of Sport Clips.

As the nation's leading provider of men's and boys' haircare, veteran-founded Sport Clips began work with the VFW in 2013 to provide Help A Hero scholarships. To date, the program has awarded more than 2,900 scholarships totaling more than $13 million.

"We can't thank Sport Clips team members, clients, and product partners for their kindness and generosity that goes much further than simply helping to ensure veterans transition home to start meaningful careers," said VFW National Commander Duane Sarmiento. "The support we receive to provide Help A Hero scholarships positively changes the lives of our service members, veterans and their families for decades to come."

More than $150,000 of the donation this year was from Sport Clips store owners, while clients, individual supporters, and Sport Clips team members donated the most generous portion of money raised in stores and online. Sport Clips product partners Direct Beauty Express, John Paul Mitchell Systems, Nioxin, Sexy Hair, Gibs Grooming Actiiv, and American Crew also made substantial contributions.

The application period for fall 2024 Help A Hero Scholarships is open now through April 30 to receive up to $5,000 of assistance per semester, per family for service members and veterans in the rank of E-5 and below. To find out more, visit your local Sport Clips, SportClips.com/hero or vfw.org/Scholarship.

About Sport Clips Haircuts

Sport Clips Haircuts is headquartered in Georgetown, Texas. It was established in 1993 and began franchising in 1995. The sports-themed haircutting franchise, which specializes in haircuts for men and boys, offers online check in for clients, and ranks #44 in the Entrepreneur "Franchise 500" for 2024 and was named a 2024 Top Franchise by Franchise Business Review. There are almost 1,900 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 a 2021 Top Franchise for Veterans by Entrepreneur. Sport Clips provides "Haircuts with Heart" through its annual Help A Hero fundraiser that has contributed $14 million to the VFW; national partnership with St. Baldrick's Foundation, the largest private funder of childhood cancer research grants; and other national and local philanthropic outreach. Sport Clips is a proud sponsor of NASCAR's Joe Gibbs Racing team, and partners with other NCAA and professional sports teams. To learn more about Sport Clips, visit sportclips.com.

About The Veterans of Foreign Wars
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is the nation's largest and oldest major war veterans organization. Founded in 1899, the congressionally chartered VFW is comprised entirely of eligible veterans and military service members from the active, Guard and Reserve forces. With more than 1.4 million VFW and Auxiliary members located in nearly 6,000 Posts worldwide, the nonprofit veterans service organization is proud to proclaim "NO ONE DOES MORE FOR VETERANS" than the VFW, which is dedicated to veterans' service, legislative advocacy, and military and community service programs. For more information, or to join, visit our website at vfw.org.

SOURCE Sport Clips