Reading Is The Price You Pay For A Haircut

There is one barber who likes stories and wants children to read so much, that he is willing to give free haircuts to boys and girls who read to him while getting a cut, according to blackdoctor.

Meet wonder barber Courtney Holmes, who was tuned into reading to him on Saturday afternoon. He was a local barber who "traded haircuts for stories" during the second annual Back to School Bash in Comiskey Park.

"I just want to support kids reading," Holmes said.

Why did he feel this way?

A 2009 study showed that reading for just six minutes can reduce stress by 68 percent.

It can also make your heart rate as well as muscle tension more relaxed.

After stress at school, it would profit you to open a big book, or kindle, just in order to relax.

Research also shows that putting aside some time to read can bring down dementia as we age.

The Back to School Bash was organized by "Anderson Sainci...the result of collaboration between multiple community partners and nonprofit organizations."

"The idea is to connect people to people and people to resources," Sainci said, adding, "It helps all of us to reach our full potential."

The bash helped more than a 100 people to learn about new opportunities.

While many books were being given away, most of them were being read to Holmes, a barber at Spark Family Hair Salon.

"This is amazing. It's fabulous," said Beth McGorry, outreach coordinator with St. Mark. She said it was neat to watch Holmes help young children sound out words they didn't quite know yet.

 "It's great. All the kids, they want to have a good haircut to go back to school," she said. "They're paying through reading," said Caitlin Daniels, grade-level reading coordinator with the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque.