TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — With back-to-school shopping becoming a growing financial burden for families, one Southside event is stepping up to help.
According to a recent survey by Intuit Credit Karma, 44% of parents say they’ve gone into debt trying to afford school supplies, a 10% increase from last year.
In response, American Eat Co. hosted a back-to-school backpack and haircut giveaway on July 29th, their fourth year organizing the event at the popular Southside food hall.
The event was created in 2017 by J.P. Ortiz, owner of Fade Masters Academy, whose students provided free haircuts from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. This year, they were joined by Tucson-based First Precision Construction, which donated over 200 backpacks for students.
Cesar Romero, owner of First Precision Construction, said organizing the giveaway is his team’s way of giving back.
“We’ve been fruitful. We’ve been very blessed lately, so we want to give back,” Romero said. “We want to make sure that everybody gets to reap some of the benefits of it.”
The giveaway provided a much-needed boost for families like that of Anna Saenz, who says she’s had a difficult year financially raising three children, one of whom has autism.
“This year has been hard just because we have three kids in three different schools,” Saenz said. “High school, sports fees, we’ve already surpassed a couple of hundred dollars... And that’s not even including clothes, back-to-school shoes, things like that. So trying to save anywhere we can makes a huge difference.”
Cynthia Fimbres, who brought her sons in for free trims, echoed that sentiment.
“It’s expensive, especially with three kids and all the necessities,” she said. “Doing little things like this, getting them the head-start on school supplies, it helps so much. Especially the haircuts, we’d normally pay about 70 bucks for them. It’s nice to send them to school with confidence.”
That confidence is exactly what Fade Masters Academy founder JP Ortiz hopes to provide.
“A fresh clean slate for each student, you know?” Ortiz said. “It might be the only haircut they get all year, so I want to provide that.”
Ortiz brought around 15 of his students to the event, providing about 200 haircuts throughout the day. Another group of 10 from his night class also joined during the afternoon. He says many of those taking advantage of the free cuts were returning clients, as the academy offers $10 haircuts throughout the year.
American Eat Co. co-owner, Memo Gallegos, says that as the school year approaches and prices rise, community efforts like this are helping Tucson families breathe a little easier.
“Everything is expensive these days, from clothes to supplies, so any little bit helps,” Gallegos said. “So this is the least we can do, just to offer some sort of relief. You don’t have to have a ton of money to do it. You can come get a free haircut and feel good showing up to school on the first day.”
According to event organizers, any leftover backpacks will be donated to local schools, including Sunnyside and Tucson High.
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