A mother from Tennessee is offering hair braiding for children for free as a way of extending a hand to fellow parents who cannot cover the cost of salon services.
Juggling multiple jobs, a single mom Brittany Starks herself is finding it hard to buy her kids their new school supplies and clothes.
But this does not stop her from hearing out from others who want their children’s hair braided, taking to social media her intention to help.
“I thought I was only going to get five to seven kids but I had 35,” Starks told Fox News.
Her initial post gained several attention, making her dedicate hours at night and early morning for the free services. She shared that she starts braiding kids’ hair from around 5:00 p.m. after her work, and stays up until past midnight.
The requests are flooding, she said, and she even tapped additional hands to help out with the queries. Even people from outside Tennessee are contacting her.
Her move to help others was sparked through a family friend who provided her children, 7-year-old Cayden and 9-year-old Ceniyah, with the school supplies and uniform they need for school.
She was overwhelmed with the help and was inspired to pass it on.
“The parents’ stories are very similar to mine,” she shared. “Being homeless, struggling with depression, and just struggling being a single parent.”
Starks became homeless in 2013 while pregnant with her younger child. She went into the same situation in 2017 when her daughter was diagnosed with asthma, sleep apnea, and had autism. She lost her job and home as she was forced to stay at home to look after her ill child.
She transferred to Nashville, Tennessee in 2018 and was offered help by family.
While her hardships are still there, she discovered her love to help others out.
“I’ve seen how much the community appreciated what I was doing and how much of a need it is,” she said.
She intends to continue offering the services once a month for the kids in Nashville.
“Doing this makes me happy,” she said. “The smile on the children’s faces are priceless. It brings me so much joy to know I made a difference in their life.”