Hidden Gems: Meet Megan Williams of Smiles and Kuts Foundation

Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Williams.

Hi Megan, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I have been a licensed cosmetologist for over 23 years as well as a salon owner. I grew to love what I did but wanted to do more. I have always been passionate about helping and giving back to our youth. In 2013, my then 5-year-old daughter was diagnosed with hearing loss. Through her journey, I found it important to build her confidence so she could be strong enough to endure life’s challenges. We started doing her naturally curly hair in cute styles to make her feel good and look good about herself.

Fast forward to 2017, my family and I decided to give back to a family for Christmas. We met the children and just seeing how they gloated over my daughter, not knowing the challenges she faced and still was going through. Right then, I knew I wanted to do more. After giving them a wonderful Christmas, I went home and, with a pen and a composition notebook, wrote down an idea of how to use my gift of doing hair to give back to youth in need. In 2018, the Smiles and Kuts Foundation was founded. Since I lived in the Northland and worked with children with special needs in the North Kansas City School District. I reached out to the principals to start a pilot program to travel to schools to provide haircuts to school aged youth. Our program went from 4 schools to now 13 schools in the district, Kipp Endeavor Charter School and three organizations that we partner with. We just established a new program partner with salons and barbershops to reach more youth in the Kansas City area. We are continuously growing with new programs and ideas to continue our mission of strengthening a child’s health, mind and spirit with a positive self-image.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I can say some parts are smooth but there have been some struggles. The struggle to me have been trying to invent the wheel. There are many beauty and barber professionals volunteering time and giving back but create a program that is continuous throughout the school year and also having limited help has been challenging. We have made it through. Also, being a business owner and a founder is different. There is a lot of information that I have learned over the years and am still learning about the nonprofit realm. I am a researcher and am not afraid of asking if I don’t know.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Smiles and Kuts Foundation?
We are a nonprofit organization that provides haircutting services to children with special needs and those living in low-income families. We are currently partnered with North Kansas City School District, Kipp Endeavor Charter School, Hillcrest Hope, Hope House, and RMHC. We believe in building confidence in school-age youth so they can become more social with their peers, academically successful and have an overall sense of self and belonging.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Passion- If you want to find your purpose and achieve greatness, you have to care about what you are doing.

Contact Info:

• Email: megan@smilesandkuts.com
• Website: www.smilesandkuts.org
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/smilesandkuts
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/smilesandkuts