THIS VOLUNTEER IS CUTTING AWAY AT INEQUALITY

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Ava Zhang. Read her story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.

Ava Zhang used to cut her dolls’ hair as a child. Over a decade later, she’s leading an organization that helps those who are struggling to find confidence and strength, through haircuts. During the COVID-19 pandemic, salons and barbershops were closed for safety regulations. Ava had already developed a hobby of cutting hair for family and friends and found plenty of people eager for a fresh haircut while everything was closed. But she also wanted to take her skills and combine them with her passion for helping others through volunteerism. She started giving haircuts in the parking lot of her local grocery store for strangers, and discovered that the relationship formed with a client in her chair was one of tremendous confidence. But when Ava reached out to shelters and asked if she could provide haircuts to their clients, she was informed that she needed a cosmetology license to cut hair.

Instead of feeling defeated, Ava went on to enroll in cosmetology school. She trained for as many as 1,500 hours and passed two state board exams to get her cosmetology license. Now, she spearheads Cuts for a Cause, a youth-led nonprofit providing free, professional hair-cutting and styling services to marginalized communities. Ava is responsible for coordinating with shelter partners, recruiting and managing volunteers, planning service events, and providing the haircuts. But she has also expanded the organization’s scope, hosting self-care health education workshops for over 800 individuals. By providing personal care and beauty services for underserved communities, Ava is giving each client the respect and dignity they deserve.

Now a rising high school senior, Ava is looking toward the future. When she heads to college, she would like to expand the organization beyond her own involvement. While she has a supportive team of volunteers, she’s still the only one providing haircuts and is hoping to find another young person with the proper qualifications to cut hair. Ava may be the youngest licensed barber in Virginia, but she’s also a volunteer powerhouse. She dedicates 45 hours per month to her work with Cuts for a Cause and has no intention of slowing down. With every snip of her scissors, Ava is giving her time to build someone’s confidence. Her willingness to combine her talents with a passion for helping others is an incredible example of the power of volunteerism.

What inspired you to get started with this initiative? 

Haircutting has always been one of my favorite hobbies. When I was a little kid, I would cut the hair on my dolls, and I began cutting hair for my family and neighbors. During COVID, a lot of salons were closed, so I wanted to practice my haircutting skills more. I went to Giant, the grocery store, and provided haircuts for people. One man came up to me, and when he sat down in the chair and I gave him his haircut, we talked about his life. He didn’t just thank me for the haircut, but he thanked me for the time that I took to really listen to him.

That’s when I noticed how much a haircut can really mean. It’s not just the haircut that improves someone’s confidence, but the time it takes to build that trust and relationship in the chair. That made me want to start cutting hair for people who don’t have that access and could really benefit from being listened to. I began reaching out to local shelters in Northern Virginia, and now we have around five partnerships

Tell us about your volunteer role with Cuts for a Cause.

I have a team with a Fundraising Director, an Outreach Director, and a Secretary, and I’ll assign them certain tasks, whether it’s reaching out to more shelters or reaching out to restaurants or other places we can partner with for fundraisers. I also coordinate with student volunteers who can help out at the haircutting events. I do the designing for Instagram posts, but I generally oversee what my team does.

What inspires you to volunteer? 

Volunteering to me is such an amazing thing because I’m not just doing what I love, but I’m also helping the community and restoring dignity and confidence to these people who cannot access services like health education and grooming.

What’s been the most rewarding part of your work? 

The most rewarding part is that haircuts allowed me to sit down with someone and hear about their lives and their experiences. Some people are excited to tell me what haircut they want, or just want someone to listen to them. I love working with children too because they’re always very excited and talkative, and seeing someone look at them afterward, smile, and see that confidence is really rewarding. It’s really more than just changing someone’s appearance.

What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer? 

 Helping someone starts with listening to them instead of just assuming what they need. Every person who sits in my chair has different experiences and ways of communicating, and I’ve definitely learned how to adapt. Whether that means communicating with someone who doesn’t speak much English or working with a nervous child, I’ve learned a lot about leadership because running an organization means communicating with shelters, coordinating with volunteers, and figuring out what to do if things don’t go as planned.

Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about? 

Getting involved with something you genuinely care about makes volunteering feel much less like an obligation or a job, and more like being who you are. I loved cosmetology before starting Cuts for a Cause, but volunteering showed me that a personal interest could also meet a need in a community and serve other people. You don’t need to start a nonprofit or have a service-oriented skill to make an impact. When people find what they care about and what their community needs, service becomes much more personal and sustainable.

Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?

Find something you love and start with something you know how to do. Don’t wait until you feel completely prepared, because when you’re a young person and you have a passion, you really need to get out there. You can’t keep waiting. When I started, I didn’t have a large organization or hundreds of volunteers. I just had a skill that I knew could help someone. To this day, it’s still just me doing the haircutting.

Check out organizations in your community and ask what they actually need. Be willing to start small, because your first effort doesn’t have to impact a bunch of people to really make an impact. One meaningful interaction can show where you can go next, and as you gain more experience, listen to people you serve and let what you learn from them shape how you continue helping.

What do you want people to learn from your story? 

Doing what you love and helping other people can make such a bigger impact than you think. My organization isn’t expanded throughout the country or the world, but these one-on-one interactions with the people are much deeper than giving a simple haircut, because you’re building trust and community. I want people to learn that you don’t have to be a huge organization to feel like you did something.

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Ava? Find local volunteer opportunities.