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Barbershop offers discount to kids who read aloud during haircuts
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A Michigan barbershop is charming parents and kids alike with its story time discount. - photo by Jessica Ivins
YPSILANTI, Mich. A Michigan barbershop is charming parents and kids alike with its storytime discount.

Ryan Griffin has been cutting and styling hair at The Fuller Cut for two decades, according to The Huffington Post. When he heard about barbershops across the country offering a discount to kids who read aloud during their haircuts, he knew it was something he wanted to bring to his shop.

So he gathered up books from his home and brought them in, offering a $2 discount to any child who was willing to read while sitting in the chair.

Thats just how it started. It wasnt anything grand," Griffin told the Huffington Post. "I just wanted to be responsible.

Customers quickly fell in love with the program. The shop now boasts a rotating library of anywhere between 75 to 100 books most of which feature positive images of African-Americans.

Parents love it and the kids well, they like getting the $2 back, Griffin said. We get compliments from teachers all the time, too.

Griffin makes a point to track where each child left off in a particular book, so that the next time they come in for a hair appointment they can pick right back up again. The system doubles as a creative and engaging way to gauge a childs progress, Griffin told The Huffington Post.

When a kid thinks its cool to read, thats a gift, he said. Some kids go to class and theyre afraid to read out loud, but this really builds their confidence.

Griffin said he hopes this program will inspire kids to love reading something that could change the course of their lives.

I hope people reading this and feel the same way go to their barbershop or beauty salons and tell them about this program as well, he said.