KALAMAZOO, MI — If you were in the Vine neighborhood Friday late afternoon, you either heard the music, smelled the fish fry, or saw the community in Rob’s Barbershop parking lot on Vine Street. The community came together to encourage kids to read.
You might think haircuts and literacy are a unique pairing, but Jen Stroven, the Early Literacy Program Manager at the Great Start Collaborative at the Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency (KRESA), who organized the event, says it’s not that odd when you think about it.
“We’re definitely not the first ones to pursue that,” she says. “There’s national barbershop literacy initiatives, but the barbershop is such a communal environment that people go and spend time and build relationships there over time and we want to be where families are and we want to be where people are that may face unique barriers to literacy development and economic wellbeing and all those things.”
Robert DeAnda, owner of Rob’s Barbershop, was happy to take part this year.
“We want to give back,” he says. “I want to help, I think it’s a great cause. I think it’s great what they’re doing.”
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David Lehman-Oliver, 9, gets his haircut by his longtime barber Jerome Lenzy at Rob’s Barber Shop during a Barbershop and Literacy event in the Vine Neighborhood.Jerome Lenzy has been a barber at Rob’s for six years and looked forward to the event.
“That’s our future,” he says. “The world’s future. We have to treat the kids right and get them off to a good start and direction.”
Kids were able to get a free haircut and a free book at the event. DeAnda runs a similar program out of his barbershop with KRESA. Kids who come into his shop get to take home a free book after their haircut. It’s something longtime patron and mom Marta Lehman was excited to see when she brought her son David in for the first time nearly five years ago.
“There are community partners out there that are willing to go the extra mile to support families with young children,” she says. “They’re doing more than just haircuts but helping to connect parents with educational opportunities here in the community.”
The Vine community specifically.
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Kristen AguirreAt Rob’s Barbershop young people were being encouraged to read along with their haircuts.“Attendees often feel energized by these events and come to the neighborhood association with thoughts of doing something of their own. Our job at the VNA is to kick that front door off the hinges and help empower residents to act, and while the VNA cannot be everything to everybody, we can certainly aspire to partner with community advocates to address social inequities both with Vine and the greater Kalamazoo community too,” says Steve Walsh, Executive Director of the Vine Neighborhood Association.
The Vine Neighborhood Association is over 40 years old and consists of residents and tenants of the Vine neighborhood, empowering its community and addressing inequities to build a thriving community.
“The Vine neighborhood has always valued reading and writing and the arts in general,” Walsh says. “We have been in the vanguard of working with residents to help with the installation of the numerous Lending Libraries that dot our neighborhood. We have also had a local barber on Vine Street for over 30 years, a tradition that Rob and Jerome have been fantastic in carrying on. They truly understand the important role a barber can play within the neighborhood.
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Kristen AguirreA young boy gets his haircut by Robert DeAnda, owner of Rob’s Barber Shop during a Barbershop and Literacy event in the Vine Neighborhood.Kids also had the opportunity to meet children's author Keenan Jones and receive a free, signed copy of his newest book.
“There was the opportunity to celebrate the work of a minority author,” Walsh says.
Representation matters. The Barbershop event was the perfect Vine celebration of community, art, and commerce.”
That’s a big part of the work Stroven and her team do in the community.
“It’s a big push for us to make sure that we’re working with barbers and outfitting them with children’s books every single month and giving them materials and ideas for parents to do at home,” Stroven says.
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Kristen AguirreA Kalamazoo family looks at the free books available at a Barbershop and Literacy event in the Vine Neighborhood. Those materials ultimately impact local literacy rates.
“Consistently in Kalamazoo and this is a reflection of Michigan,” Stroven says, “There’s only about 45 percent of third graders that are reading at proficiency levels.”
As a mother, Lehman sees firsthand the importance of this event.
“The importance of language, with early childhood, is immense, and they’re set up for success later in life,” she says.
“Those things really help develop that child’s brain and all of that development correlates to getting to read later, correlates to graduation rates later on,” Stroven says.
Lehman's 9-year-old son, David Lehman-Oliver, encourages other kids to take part in the local barbershop reading programs.
“If you don’t have any books, you can come to the barbershop and get a book,” he says.
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Kristen AguirreDecision, decisions. A young girl looks at the free books available during a recent Barbershop and Literacy event in the Vine Neighborhood.
Oliver also enjoying the haircut part of the event as well.
“My barber said I need a haircut, and now I’m looking great,” he says.
DeAnda, agreeing with him and delivering a simple message to his young clients, says, “We all need to read more.”
Parents looking for early literacy ideas and resources can find tips on the
Great Start Collaborative’s website.
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Kristen AguirreThe free books available at Barbershop and Literacy event in the Vine Neighborhood put on by Great Start Collaborative at the Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency (KRESA) and the Vine Neighborhood Association.
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This story is part of Southwest Michigan Journalism Collaborative’s coverage of equitable community development. SWMJC is a group of 12 regional organizations dedicated to strengthening local journalism. Visit swmichjournalism.com to learn more.