RUTLEDGE – A few area students will start school with a fresh, free ‘do. Barber Tvedt Belcher offered free back-to-school haircuts at Crenshaw Community Baptist Church Tuesday. The haircuts were for boys and anyone else interested in a short hairdo.

Since moving here from Sanford, N.C. last year, Belcher said she has wanted to find a way to give back.

“Cutting hair is my passion,” she said. “I felt I could use it to give back to those less fortunate.”

Belcher plans to continue the tradition with free haircuts at least once per month. She said she was open to doing them anywhere, from a nursing home to a church hall. She suggested people give her a call if they know of someone who could use her services.

“If anybody else has ideas where I could go, just contact me and I’ll be more than willing to do it,” she said.

Belcher works at New Beginnings Barber and Beauty Shop, 5924 Wares Ferry Road, Montgomery. She gives free haircuts every Tuesday.

Crenshaw Community Baptist Church fit the bill because it was focused on helping those in the community, Belcher said.

Zymoriam Smith, 12, appreciated having the opportunity to get a Mohawk for his first day back at Luverne School. His mother, Roslyn Mitchell, just appreciated having three of her eight children prepared for Monday.

“It really helps me out,” she said.

Crenshaw Community Baptist Church member Sheena Walton raved over the work she saw Belcher do and thought the free service was a wonderful idea. “I think it’s great. It helps out a lot of people,” Walton said.

For Belcher, cutting hair is not about the money. It’s about helping others. “A lot of parents have got schools supplies to buy, school clothes to get,” she said. “Getting a hair cut will be one less thing to worry about.”

For more information about Belcher’s services, call 557-9141.