Bringing home a little closer to our nation’s heroes this year.

From October 15 through November 11, participating Sport Clips Haircuts locations across the country will join forces to support our annual “Help A Hero” fundraising campaign, benefiting the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ (VFW) Operation Uplink™! Our goal is to raise $500,000 in our sixth year of donating to Operation Uplink, a program that connects deployed and hospitalized U.S. service members with loved ones through free call days. Since the program began in 2007, almost 2 million free calls home have been made possible through Help A Hero!

To donate, visit a Sport Clips location near you and ask your stylist for details. If you don’t have a Sport Clips in your neighborhood, click here to donate online. In addition to fundraising, a key part of our efforts will be “The Biggest Haircut Day of the Year” on Veterans Day, Sunday, November 11, when we will donate a dollar from every haircut service to the program.

“These calls are more than just ‘morale’ calls. They’re often a lifeline for those who are far from home – sometimes on their second or third deployment,” says Gordon Logan, Sport Clips CEO and Founder. “The calls were important to me when I was overseas in the Air Force, and are still important today.”

Below is a list of the number of free calls home that have been made possible through the Help A Hero program in 2012:

New Years Day: 41,942 calls

2/26/12: 33,756 calls

3/11/12: 30,762 calls

3/25/12: 33,413 calls

4/29/12: 33,537 calls

Memorial Day: 29,431 calls

6/3/12: 34,682 calls

Father’s Day: 46,523 calls

Independence Day: 29,301 calls

8/5/12: 27,201 calls

8/19/12: 28,470 calls

Labor Day: 23,561 calls

10/7/12: 20,456 calls

10/21/12: 20,046 calls

Thank you for your continued support of the Help a Hero program!

In addition to supporting Help A Hero, many Sport Clips locations will offer free haircuts to active-duty U.S. service members and veterans on Veterans Day, Sunday, November 11, 2012, with valid proof of service. Please contact Sport Clips Rancho Bernardo/North Poway for more information. For a list of participating stores, please click here.