All programs below represent our “coming next” roadmap as we grow with partners, funders, and community champions.
CRC’s barbershop reading model is the starting point, but not the finish line. Our long-term vision is to bundle and layer programs that meet families where they are, strengthen literacy, and build pathways to future opportunity.
What’s Coming Next
Fade Into Literacy
A one-stop model that bundles haircuts with book access and family financial literacy supports.
The barrier: Families face multiple barriers — including limited books at home and the recurring cost of essential grooming.
What it looks like: Haircuts + book distribution + simple financial literacy kits to reduce immediate stress while building long-term assets.
CRC Summer City Games
A citywide “Olympics” that celebrates literacy, leadership, and community pride alongside athletic and character-building challenges.
The barrier: Summer learning loss + limited safe, engaging activities across neighborhoods.
What it looks like: A unified, high-energy event that values academic and character growth as highly as athletic skill.
Barbershop to Boardroom
A mentorship-rich pathway for older youth that links soft skills, financial planning, and industry connections to real opportunity.
The barrier: Youth ages 16–24 often lack clear pathways to in-demand careers, even when local employers are hiring.
What it looks like: Mentorship + career exposure + credential / apprenticeship pathways supported by trusted community adults.
The Fatherhood Initiative
A policy-to-practice model that uses barbershops as outreach hubs to connect fathers to rights, responsibilities, and resources.
The barrier: Public systems often struggle to consistently engage fathers, creating gaps in family stability and support.
What it looks like: Community-coordinated outreach through trusted barbershops tied to legal rights, co-parenting support, and employment resources.
Dad’s Treasure Chest
A stigma-free way to put books directly in fathers’ hands using the natural rhythm of the barbershop.
The barrier: Many literacy efforts unintentionally default to engaging mothers, leaving fathers without accessible entry points.
What it looks like: Book exchanges and father-focused reading touchpoints that feel natural, comfortable, and consistent.
The Library Barbershop Studio
A scalable social enterprise model that fuses a barbershop studio with a library — expanding access, foot traffic, and community belonging.
The barrier: Libraries want deeper engagement; barbers need affordable space; communities need neutral hubs for upward mobility.
What it looks like: Library foot traffic supports the barber business, and the barbershop brings new families into the library ecosystem.
Let’s build what’s next. Together.
CRC’s future programs are designed to be built with partners: libraries, funders, employers, city leaders, and community organizations. If you want to help shape the next chapter of literacy and opportunity in St. Petersburg, we’d love to connect.