Get a haircut, Help A Hero during Sport Clips' scholarships for veterans campaign

GEORGETOWN, Texas, Oct. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- When you get a haircut at one of the more than 1,200 Sport Clips across the country, you can "help a hero" at the same time by donating to the company's Help A Hero program now through November 11, Veterans Day. Over the next four weeks, Sport Clips' locations nationwide will have a collective goal of raising $600,000 for their annual fundraising program that provides scholarship money to veterans. Since 2007, the company has partnered with the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) to support service members, and last year, created the "Sport Clips Help A Hero Scholarship" program to help service members and veterans in the next chapter of their lives. Each scholarship provides up to $5,000 of assistance to those who are pursuing an education at post-secondary institutions, including trade schools.

Donations to Help A Hero will be collected in-store and at local fundraising events through November 11. In addition, Sport Clips will hold "The Biggest Haircut Day of the Year" on Veterans Day, when each store will donate a dollar from every haircut service to the VFW-administered scholarship program.

"Sport Clips team members, partners and our clients have already made a positive difference in the lives of more than 130 veterans by helping fund their education through Help A Hero scholarships. We're hoping to award even more scholarships in the year ahead, and anyone can help -- it's as easy as getting a haircut," says Sport Clips Founder and CEO Gordon Logan, a U.S. Air Force veteran and lifetime member of the VFW.

"Thousands of U.S. service members returning home from the front lines still face an unstable economy," says VFW Commander-in-Chief John Stroud, a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. "Together with Sport Clips, the VFW remains committed to providing our service members and veterans with the tools they need to reach their educational goals and successfully transition back into civilian life. The Help A Hero Scholarship has proven to be vital to those efforts."

Veteran recipient James Robak says of his Sport Clips Help A Hero Scholarship, "It will help out immensely since my GI Bill has been exhausted, and I still have a year left in my dietetics program.  As a father of four, with ages spanning 14, 8, 7 and nearly 2; a wife that works full-time; and me being a full-time student; this couldn't have been a bigger blessing.  It will really help take the edge off of the financial burden that a higher education carries, along with the benefits for a brighter future."

Sport Clips is the official haircutter of the VFW, and its Help A Hero campaign is just one of the many ways it supports active-duty military and veterans. To find out more, visit your local Sport Clips or SportClips.com.

About Sport Clips Haircuts

Sport Clips Haircuts is headquartered in Georgetown, Texas. It was established in 1993 and started franchising in 1995 by Founder and CEO Gordon Logan. The sports-themed haircutting franchise, which specializes in haircuts for men and boys, is ranked by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the top 20 "Fastest-Growing Franchises" and in the top 40 in the "Franchise 500." There are currently over 1,200 Sport Clips stores open in the U.S. and Canada. Sport Clips is the "Official Haircutter" of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), offers veterans preferential pricing on haircuts and franchises, and was named as one of the "Top 50 Franchises for Veterans" by USA Today and in the top 5 by Military Times Magazine. Our "Help A Hero" program has raised more than $2 million to help deployed and hospitalized U.S. service members call home through the VFW's Operation Uplink™ and to provide scholarships for veterans transitioning to a civilian career. Sport Clips is a proud sponsor of Joe Gibbs Racing's NASCAR drivers Denny Hamlin and Elliott Sadler, and partners with numerous NCAA and professional sports teams. To learn more about Sport Clips, visit SportClips.com.

About The Veterans of Foreign Wars

The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is a nonprofit veterans service organization comprised of combat veterans and eligible military service members from the active, Guard and Reserve forces. Founded in 1899 and chartered by Congress in 1936, the VFW is the nation's largest organization of war veterans and its oldest major veterans organization. With nearly 1.9 million VFW and Auxiliary members located in more than 6,900 Posts worldwide, "NO ONE DOES MORE FOR VETERANS." The VFW and its Auxiliaries are dedicated to veterans' service, legislative advocacy, and military and community service programs worldwide. For more information or to join, visit our website at www.vfw.org.

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20141009/151372
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120511/DA05746LOGO

SOURCE Sport Clips Haircuts