By AMY MARCHIANO
For the Daily Record/Sunday News

Tierra Barton, 15, gets her hair styled by Patrick Winter during the free haircut event for New Hope Academy students at World A Cuts Barber Institute in York. Winter owns the barber shop, which is staffed by institute students. (DAILY RECORD/SUNDAY NEWS- BIL BOWDEN)

Makenzie Montgomery, 13, sat patiently while her long hair was being cut.

The seventh-grader at New Hope Academy Charter School in York was getting about an inch of mostly split ends cut off. Her last haircut was in June.

Meanwhile, her stepfather, Jeff Mateljan, and her brother James, 11, a sixth-grader at the academy, watched. James had gotten his hair cut earlier.

Saving money is what prompted their trip to the World A Cuts Barber Institute, at 121 N. George St., Mateljan said. The institute was giving free haircuts for students at New Hope.

"It helps out money-wise," said Mateljan, who was laid off from his job three months ago as a forklift operator at Graham Packaging.

Though his wife works, he appreciated the free haircuts, he said.

Patrick Winter, World A Cuts owner, said this is the first time he's held the event for sixth- through 12th-graders who attend the school.

"Basically, every year we do something pertaining to kids to give back to the community," he said. Staffed by students at the institute, the shop has been open for three years.

Winter said Samuel Sutton, the CEO of New Hope Academy, is one of his clients. The pair talked about what they could do to help out the kids, he said.

With money being tight for many families, parents have a lot of deal with, said Latrice Jones, an attendance officer with New Hope. Getting a haircut is "one less thing to worry about," she said.

About 500 students from districts throughout York County attend the school, Jones said. The charter school enrolls grades six through 12.

Jones said the event is a "great way to build relationships within the community and build relationships with families."

Steven Smaw, 17, a senior, said he appreciated the free haircut. The $15 he would have spent can now go to more school clothes, he said.