Can a haircut change a life?

Probably not. But a conversation during a haircut just might. 

Six years apart, the leaders of two different charities in our community found themselves wrestling with remarkably similar questions. They were doing good things. Generous people were giving. Volunteers were working hard. Families were receiving free goods and services. 

But was all that giving actually helping people move forward? 

That’s a hard question, especially when a charity is popular, donors are generous, and the number of people served keeps growing. But isn’t this a question every organization that helps people should be willing to ask? 

In 2019, after 33 years of providing free Christmas gifts to families, leaders at the Coeur d’Alene Press confronted an uncomfortable reality. Christmas for All had become an expected annual handout. Families received gift cards in December, but too often nothing had changed in their lives by January. 

Six years later, Amy and Jordan Redman, founders of 208 Ministries’ Day of Hope, were wrestling with much the same thing. Day of Hope had grown into a community event where generous people gave away food, backpacks and other items. But the Redmans knew in their hearts that giving away more “stuff” wasn’t helping people move forward the way they had hoped. 

I have tremendous respect for leaders willing to admit that. It takes courage to question something you built, especially when everyone else is telling you how successful it is. 

Both times, Charity Reimagined was invited to help answer the same question: What could we do differently? 

With Christmas for All, we started small. Ten Referring Partners — organizations that work directly with people and understand their circumstances — helped identify the real barriers that keep families from moving forward. Instead of buying gifts, those same generous dollars began addressing these barriers — from car repairs and childcare to health, housing, and education. Christmas for All became Christmas for All-Year because, after all, cars don’t just break down at Christmas. 

Same generosity. Different approach. And we’re celebrating lives transformed because of it. 

So when Amy and Jordan asked Charity Reimagined to help redesign Day of Hope in 2025, we followed the same playbook: Start small. Listen. Learn. Then grow. We invited 10 organizations to participate as Care Partners last year. Instead of asking, What can we give you today? The focus became: What could help you move forward tomorrow? 

And something remarkable happened. People talked. 

They told their stories. Organizations listened. Connections were made to resources many people didn’t even know existed. And Care Partners found ways to invite people to reconnect after the Day of Hope ended. 

That’s where the haircut comes in. 

Last year, a man arrived in Coeur d’Alene on a bus from Seattle, where he had been living in homelessness and addiction. Someone encouraged him to attend Day of Hope. 

He got a haircut. 

But the young man cutting his hair didn’t just provide a free service. He talked with him. He listened. That conversation led to introductions to organizations that very day that could help him find a path forward. 

A year later, this man is living independently, working, and preparing to start school this fall to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a chef. The haircut wasn’t what changed his life. The connection to the right people and resources allowed him to do that for himself. 

Last year, three women who met Louisa and her team at North Idaho College’s Center for New Directions experienced something similar. One was homeless with an infant. Another was living in a horrific domestic violence situation. A third had escaped domestic violence and arrived here isolated and alone. 

All three found community, support, and a plan forward. Today, two are attending college: one continues to earn scholarships, and the other finished her first semester with a 4.0. The third is moving forward with healing and new confidence. 

These lives show what can happen when we change the way we help — and how quickly change can begin. 

This year, Day of Hope expanded from 10 Care Partners to 25, covering a much broader range of resources and services. About 1,500 people attended. It was still a celebration with family fun, a barbecue, games, and raffles. But people weren’t standing in lines waiting for free stuff. They were meeting people who could help them take the next step. 

And the Care Partners were excited, too. Habitat for Humanity was one of many that told us Day of Hope was the best opportunity they had experienced to meet people who could benefit from their services. 

Something else began happening. Organizations working in housing were talking with organizations working in education, mental health, childcare, employment, and family support. They began asking us, “How do we stay connected to all these resources throughout the year?” 

No organization can meet every need. But no organization has to. 

Charity Reimagined has a tool to help. CharityTracker is communication and collaboration software we provide to local organizations at no cost because we underwrite the licensing fee. About 90 organizations across Idaho’s five northern counties are currently in our network. When someone needs resources and services an organization doesn’t provide, staff and volunteers can use Tracker to identify who does and help make that connection. Day of Hope is an example of what can happen when organizations work together for one day. Tracker helps organizations work together every day. 

Christmas for All-Year and Day of Hope began with leaders who cared enough to question their own success — neither stopped being generous. Neither became less compassionate. They became willing to ask more of their generosity.  

And that’s our challenge as a caring community. How do we measure whether our charity is working? By what we give away and how many people we serve? Or by lives changed? Do people gain skills, confidence, and opportunity? Are barriers removed? Are they moving toward no longer needing help? And the hardest questions of all: If the same people keep coming back for the same help, does the model itself need to change? And do we have the courage to change it? 

There will always be moments when immediate relief is the right response. But temporary relief should not become permanent dependence simply because that is the way we have always done it. 

That is the larger work of Charity Reimagined. We’re challenging old models, building new initiatives to address barriers, and working with those willing to ask harder questions about what it really means to help. 

Christmas for All-Year and Day of Hope show that change doesn’t require tearing everything down. Start small. Listen. Learn. Connect. Change what isn’t working. Then grow what is. Organizations that once worked largely within their own lanes are discovering how much more is possible when we know one another, collaborate and connect people to the right help at the right time. 

If you’re willing to ask harder questions about how your church, nonprofit, or organization helps — or you want to learn more about Tracker — we’d love to talk. Please email us at [email protected].