Recently, a Cincinnati-based barber went viral for giving a 7-year-old child with special needs a haircut in a heartwarming video.
In a touching video posted to social media, barber Vernon Jackson is seen giving a haircut to 7-year-old Ellison Eubanks.
The video of the pair’s endearing interaction at the barbershop has since gone viral amassing more than 2.9 million views.
For 7-year-old Ellison, haircuts can be difficult.
Ellison has Down syndrome, making life a little more challenging for the young boy who has already gone through 3 open-heart surgeries.
Despite his challenges, family described Ellison as having an infectious smile and loving to laugh.
Ellison’s mother, Julie Eubanks, spoke to WLWT about the struggles they usually face while going for regular haircuts:
“My husband and I both would kind of play rock-paper-scissors on who gets to take Ellison to get his hair cut because we both knew what we were in for.”
However, when the family found out about the Gifted Event, everything changed.
The Gifted Event, founded by Barber Vernon Jackson, is an initiative that was started in 2021 to offer free haircuts to children with special needs.
After noticing that he would often get customers that needed accomodations, Jackson started the Gifted Event program at Noble Barber and Beauty, his barber shop in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Through the Gifted Event, haircuts are free for parents of children with disabilities and paid for by donors through a GoFundMe fundraiser.
Julie filmed her son’s positive experience during his most recent visit to Jackson’s barber shop in a video shared to Tiktok.
The proud mother wasn’t the only one thrilled by the heartwarming connection.
In an interview with Good Morning America, Jackson spoke on the uplifting moment.
“I know what it feels like to be insecure. I know what it feels like to not be accepted. I know what it feels like to be looked over and looked past, all those things,” Jackson stated.
“My own journey had started with me learning how to love myself … and being able to share that in principle with the children and the families whose lives I’m a part of is what I’m bringing to the table here and what I enjoy sharing with them.”