In a video posted on his Instagram page, UK comedian and TV Presenter Joel Dommett has confessed to cheating…on his barber.
Joel went on to explain that he was launching the campaign Long for Barbers, which comes from leading hair care brand VO5. The campaign urges people to put down the clippers and pledge to stay true to their barber until they can once again get back in the chair.
As part of the pledge VO5 is asking people to donate what they can to The Lions Barber Collective, which trains local barbers to spot signs of mental ill-health in customers and direct them to a resource that will help them.
Joel said “I just felt so guilty for my betrayal, I had to find a way to make it up not just to my own barber; but local barbers across the UK.” He adds, “Donations to Long for Barbers will be used to train barbers to make their chair a safe space for men to have conversations. So, while you impatiently wait to get back in one, grow your hair and donate what you can.”
VO5 is kicking off pledges with a £10,000 donation to The Lions Barber Collective, and is asking men to pledge to go long and donate what they can to the campaign.
It’s no small ask – men around the UK have already endured an unprecedented nine weeks without access to a barber, and the recent government announcement indicates that it could be the 5th of July before they even think about having a professional cut again.
Founded in September 2015, on the belief that the barbershop is a great, safe place for men to talk, The Lions Barber Collective trains barbers to use the time spent talking to clients as an opportunity to spot signs of mental distress.
Founder Tom Chapman said “With the donation from VO5 alone we can train just over 65 hair pros with a potential reach of over 32,000 people each week. The idea is not to make barbers into counsellors or psychiatrists, but to enable them to bridge the gap between the communities we serve and the resources that are available, while providing a safe non-judgemental safe space to share, open up or offload.
You can join VO5 and Joel in pledging to Long for Barbers and donate by visiting www.thelionsbarbercollective.com/long-for-barbers/
or texting:
To donate £1, text LONG4VO5 to 70201
To donate £3, text LONG4VO5 to 70331
To donate £5, text LONG4VO5 to 70970
To donate £10, text LONG4VO5 to 70191
About the author:
Claire Farrow is the Global Director of Content and Programming for the Mad World and Make a Difference Summits. She also drives the content for Make A Difference News. Claire is on a mission to help every employer – large, medium and small – get the insight, inspiration and contacts they need to make real impact on workplace culture, mental health and wellbeing in their organisation. She has been freelance for more than 15 years. During that time, she has had the honour of working with many leading publishers, including the New York Times
