West Island teen giving haircuts to help Ukraine

Aleksander Yakimiw-Martin, 16, is raising money for his home country of Ukraine, one haircut at a time.

Aleksander Yakimiw-Martin first learned to cut hair in school.

Now a part-time barber, he takes each client’s haircut seriously, with passion and precision. But lately, each cut has taken on more meaning.

“I wanted to do something personal to help Ukraine, so I’m a barber, so I thought, why not use that skill to do some good?,” said Yakimiw-Martin.

The 16-year-old created “Haircuts for Hope.” He first got the idea after giving a haircut to a Ukrainian refugee at his church. Now he’s doing it at Dynasty Barbershop in Pointe-Claire, where he’s worked for the past year.

He donates $10 from every cut to help keep lights on in classrooms and rebuild schools in war-torn Ukraine.

“It gives them the same chance that I have to learn with light and without bombs,” he told CTV News.

The teenager says he feels lucky to live here, especially since he has relatives back in Ukraine.

What’s happening to his family’s home country is never far from his mind. He wears a Ukrainian trident around his neck; a symbol of resilience, amid the ongoing fight for freedom.

“My grandparents are Ukrainian, my parents are Ukrainian. We grew up speaking Ukrainian in our house, and we stayed really close to our heritage.”

His coworkers say taking on the fundraiser at such a young age proves why he’s a cut above the rest.

“I’m super proud of him and all of us here are it’s super cool that he could, like, use his passion and his craft to fund this whole thing and make a real difference in the world,” said Dynasty Barbershop manager William Godbout.

Yakimiw-Martin’s goal is to raise $1,000. One of his clients, Kyle Gales, said, “It’s nice knowing that my money’s going to like a good cause” after getting his haircut.

The barber hopes the buzz continues to grow, so he can give back even more to schools in Ukraine, one cut at a time.