Story at a glance
- Darnell Wells, 19, is a barber in Memphis, Tennessee.
- Wells announced that he was giving free haircuts to the homeless.
- Wells and a friend also passed out hamburgers to those in need.
(WREG) – Darnell Wells is a 19-year-old barber in Memphis, Tennessee. He usually works at The Shop, in the Frayser neighborhood, giving out haircuts at his corner chair.
But this summer, he decided to do something special for the folks who couldn’t come to his chair. He brought his skills to them.
“We were just trying to help as many people as we can,” said Wells, who recently gave free haircuts to homeless people in his community. “We didn’t know we were going to help that many people.”
Behind a red lawn chair, in the Memphis summer heat, Wells went to work. He brought his clippers, his friend Zac Sherrod, and a huge heart.
“There was only two people when we got there,” Wells said. “I ended up cutting nine heads and had five more waiting. We ended up giving out at least 30 burgers.”
The hamburgers were Sherrod’s idea. He said he was inspired by Wells, so he paid for the food out of his own pocket.
“He made a post on Facebook (asking) ‘Who wants to help me feed the homeless,’ and I actually followed up,” said Sherrod.
Their acts of kindness have since gone viral, with thousands of Facebook users liking and sharing one of Wells’ posts.
“We weren’t going to post it and publicize it at all, but God put it on my heart to post it. I hope it inspires somebody to go out and help somebody else,” said Wells.
Just like in the barbershop, the conversations Wells had with his homeless clients were special.
“We learned so much from them. They were giving us their life stories, and how they got into the predicament they’re in — giving us lessons,” said Wells.
Next, Wells hopes to take those lessons to bless Memphis children with another act of kindness.
“Sometimes it isn’t about how much you have, but sometimes it’s about how much you can give,” he said. “I’m trying to get to kids, so they know it’s people doing the right thing, and you can do something positive and help other people.”
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