(WSB photo: Tommy Andrade at Saturday’s Admiral Funktion)

Earlier this year, we told you about Tommy Andrade, proprietor of <strong>Southpaw Barbershop, and his program providing free haircuts for foster kids. Now he’s broadened it into a coalition beyond West Seattle – and he wants you to know in case you’re either interested in joining or know someone who could take advantage of the services:

As you may know I am a proud supporter of and advocate for foster kids and have been doing free haircuts for them since I graduated barber college.

When I opened my shop I was excited to further my commitment to making a change by expanding my availability for the free haircuts and instill giving back as part of my company culture. I was happy that instead of being a one-man show that all of the barbers working with me also offered their services. However, I couldn’t help but feel as though I could do more. Realizing that it is not always convenient for the families to come to West Seattle and that me opening shops everywhere was not currently feasible, I thought about reaching out to others who would have my same mentality of giving back.

Thus Friends of Southpaw was thought of. I reached out to my dear friend Heather Goss with GGD Creative who took on the project pro bono because she also had the same kind of heart. Together we built friendsofsouthpaw.org. We now have a network of barbers and stylists from West Seattle to Olympia, Tacoma, and as far as Austin and Galveston, TX. We have people from San Francisco, California, Portland, Oregon, Everett, Auburn, and Kent being added next week. What started also as a platform for mostly free haircuts has also turned into others offering services such as free swim lessons, discounted automotive services and apprenticeships to kids aging out of the system.

We are excited to see this grow!

If you’re interested in either joining Tommy’s coalition or arranging for services, go here to send a message!