VFW-administered program awards record number of scholarships
HOUSTON, TEXAS
Sport Clips Haircuts held an event at VFW Post 8790 today to offer free haircuts to veterans and present a check to the VFW Foundation for $1.5M toward veterans’ scholarships. This marks the sixth year in a row that Sport Clips has donated at least $1M to the Sport Clips VFW Help A Hero Scholarship program. Administered by the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) to provide scholarships for service members and veterans, the program has grown to become the largest of its kind. Through the program, VFW awarded 196 scholarships totaling $900,000 for the current 2023 spring semester today, bringing the total scholarships awarded to 2,600.
As the nation's leading provider of men's and boys' haircare, veteran-founded Sport Clips began work with the VFW in 2013 to offer Help A Hero Scholarships to help military veterans prepare for civilian careers that often require additional college, graduate, and technical degrees and training. Since the creation of the program, Sport Clips has donated nearly $13 million to the “Help A Hero Scholarship” program."
"We owe our veterans and their families a debt of gratitude for their service. By helping ease the financial burden that often comes with reentering the civilian workforce, Sport Clips team members, clients, and product partners join us in saying 'thank you' to those who have served our country," says Gordon Logan, Air Force veteran, VFW Life member, and founder and chairman of Sport Clips. “Over the past ten years, the Help A Hero program has become a real difference-maker in the lives of so many veterans who have benefited from these scholarships and who are now successfully engaged in their civilian careers.”
“The VFW is amazed at the generosity of Sport Clips clients, its team members and its partners,” said Dan West, VFW adjutant general. “It is their kindness and eagerness to support America’s veterans that makes this scholarship program possible. And it brings me great pride to announce that the spring 2023 semester will be our biggest awarded semester to date with $900,000 in scholarships being awarded to nearly 200 student veterans. We couldn’t have achieved this feat without Sport Clips and are excited to see the wide-reaching impact this has on the families of America’s best.”
More than $143,000 of the donation total this year came from Sport Clips franchisees, with nearly half of that coming directly from haircut proceeds on Veterans Day, while Sport Clips clients donated the most generous portion of money raised in stores and online. Sport Clips 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 2023 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.
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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 #30 in the Entrepreneur “Franchise 500” for 2023 and is listed in Franchise Direct’s 2021 “Top 100 Global Franchises”. 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 $13 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 SRX Racing, 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 1.5 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.
PHOTO CUTLINE: Sport Clips Haircuts donates another $1.5M for Help A Hero veterans’ scholarships. (L - R) Edward Logan, Sport Clips Haircuts CEO and president; Dan West, VFW adjutant general, and Gordon Logan, Sport Clips Haircuts founder and chairman and Air Force veteran.