GR Kids Hair Salon Gives Back To Community

A new hair salon for kids in Michigan features fun distractions and gives the kids a chance to choose a local charity to support.

Kids today have it so much better. When I was a kid, I had to go to my cranky Irish grampa's house and get a haircut that made me look like Moe from the Three Stooges.

No offense to Gramps, but the old man didn't understand that it wasn't 1934 any more.

Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids in Grand Rapids is trying to make it easier for kids who hate getting their haircut like I did.

The kids’ hair cutting franchise is a paradise for little kids, with its fun decor, character chairs, video games, movies, and candy and ice cream options.

The idea for the salon came to franchisee Emily Tornblom after she and her husband took their two-year-old to get his first hair cut. “We thought, ‘Why not create a place that creates a fun experience for kids to get their haircut and play on game consoles and watch movies and keep them distracted while getting their haircut?'” she says.

But one thing that makes Sharkey’s even better is that every time a kid gets their hair cut, they receive a token that they can give to support a local nonprofit. The token represents a monetary donation given to one of the three choices of charities: HUGS Ranch, Kids’ Food Basket, or Artists Creating Together.

“That’s what’s most exciting about Sharkey’s,” co-owner Tara Starback told WOOD-TV 8 recently. “It’s not just a kids hair salon. It’s impacting the community around us.”