NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — It can be tough to convince certain loved ones to go to a doctor, even for a simple checkup.
So on Saturday, a barbershop in Harlem hosted a marathon hair cutting event, hoping to bring the checkup to them, CBS 2’s Janelle Burrell reported.
Their talented hands have trimmed and cut the hair of countless celebrities.
“I’ve cut everybody from Keith Sweat to Bobby Brown, New Edition, Mike Tyson,” said barber and event organizer Denny Moe.
Barbers from across the country began a 48-hour hair cutting marathon Saturday at Denny Moe’s Superstar Barbershop, shaping the manes of thousands from across the region all in an effort to raise awareness for Cutting for a Cure.
Hailing from New York, Atlanta, Virginia, and even as far as Paris, their mission is to promote health care screenings, particularly in under-served minority communities where diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure are prevalent and often go undetected.
“We kind of fool them a little bit. Give them a lot of entertainment. We have doctors come in and talk to them about health disparities in the community,” said Moe.
Just outside the shop, representatives from local health care groups provide free screenings on site. In exchange for those screenings, you can get a free haircut. Or if you choose to pay, the money goes directly to non-profit organizations.
“Our bodies are a gift and we just don’t appreciate the amount of work it takes to keep ourselves going,” said participant Greg Gist, of Washington Heights.
The ultimate goal is for the program to gain enough momentum that visiting barbers will duplicate the program in their own hometowns, Burrell reported.
“We’re talking about going beyond Atlanta. We want to do it in D.C., Baltimore, Boston,” said barber Jamaal Abdur-Rahman.
And with satisfied customers like 7-year-old Jonah who was enthusiastic about his new cut, they’re hoping to instill the practice of healthy living early on.
This is the fourth time Denny Moe’s has hosted the event.
