Sport Clips Haircuts Help A Hero Campaign

Sport Clips Haircuts in Mays Landing to “Help A Hero” through Nationwide Campaign

Local sports-themed hair care provider challenges team members and clients to make scholarships for veterans possible

Mays Landing, NJ (October 14, 2013) – Beginning today, Sport Clips at 310 Hamilton Commons in Mays Landing will join the more than 1,100 locations across the country in a single mission - to raise $575,000 for the company’s annual “Help A Hero” fundraising campaign, benefiting the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Since 2007, the Help A Hero program has supported the VFW’s Operation Uplink™ “Free Call Days”, making more than 2 million calls home possible for deployed and hospitalized U.S. service members. In its seventh year, the program will expand its focus to offer scholarships to veterans through the VFW’s Sport Clips Help A Hero Scholarship Program. Each scholarship will provide up to $5,000 of assistance to veterans who are pursuing an education at post-secondary institutions, including trade schools.

Donations to Help A Hero will be collected in-store through November 11, Veterans Day. In addition, Sport Clips will hold “The Biggest Haircut Day of the Year” on Veterans Day, when each store will donate a dollar from every haircut service to the VFW-administered scholarship program.

“As a small business owner, I’m proud I can join this national effort to help our nation’s heroes through these scholarships,” says Margie Reale, Sport Clips owner. “Sport Clips and our clients across the country have donated almost $2 million over the past six years to support our service members during deployment, so I’m glad we can continue to support them as they return home and transition into civilian careers.”

Reale’s store will also raise funds through an in store stylist contest running from October 14th through Veterans’ Day and a contest among local high schools competing to win their choice of placement of their school’s logo within Sport Clips running from October 25th through Veterans Day. Reale’s Mays Landing store will also provide free haircuts to active-duty military and veterans on Veterans Day, November 11.

“As U.S. service members return from deployments by the thousands, it’s encouraging to see active support coming from companies like Sport Clips,” said VFW Commander-in-Chief Bill Thien. “This scholarship program is an important addition to the troop-support offerings the VFW provides, and through it, we look forward to helping many service members succeed in the next chapter of their lives.”

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.

About Sport Clips Haircuts

Sport Clips Haircuts is headquartered in Georgetown, Texas and was established 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 10 percent of the “Franchise 500.” 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 Franchises for Veterans” by Franchise Business Review. Our “Help A Hero” program has raised almost $2 million to help deployed and hospitalized U.S. service members call home through the VFW’s Operation Uplink. 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.

About The Veterans of Foreign Wars

The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is a nonprofit veterans’ service organization composed of combat veterans and eligible military service members from the active, Guard and Reserve forces. Founded in 1899 and chartered by Congress in 1936, the VFW is the nation's largest organization of war veterans and its oldest major veterans’ organization. With nearly 2 million VFW and Auxiliary members located in more than 7,000 Posts worldwide, “NO ONE DOES MORE FOR VETERANS.” The VFW and its Auxiliaries are dedicated to veterans’ service, legislative advocacy, and military and community service programs worldwide. For more information or to join, visit our website at www.vfw.org.