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Byron Woods, a pandemic closed his barbershops, a remarkable act of kindness reopened them.
Starting out nearly 30-years ago, Byron built Oohs & Ahs into three shops, with 27 barbers and beauticians.
Among them are former felons receiving a second chance at life.
But when the coronavirus hit, the government did not consider his business "essential" and he was forced to close.
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When he reopened two months later, there were a pile of bills, including one for $5,000 from his landlord for rent for his unused shops, bills he couldn't afford to pay.
At age 55, he would be forced to permanently shutter shops that are community institutions:
Places where customers talked sports and politics and sought personal advice and shared their good times including graduations and weddings.
But just when all appeared to be lost, something remarkable happened.
A week earlier Byron, in a Columbus Dispatch interview, discussed his financial peril.
One reader Sue Keyser, a retired school teacher sent him her $1,200 government stimulus check enclosed with a letter which began:
"Dear Mr. Woods, today is a happy day for me. It is a day I've been waiting for. You see, ever since I received my stimulus check from the federal government,
I've wanted to give the money to someone who needed it more than I, someone who would use it wisely, someone who was worthy of some help."
Byron told The Washington Post he burst into tears upon receiving her letter.
But that's not all. His wife Tenesia set up a GoFundMe account, and thousands of dollars more poured in, and Oohs & Ahs is now back in business.
"I appreciate money," Byron told NBC News, "But much more, I appreciate the heart of people."
Editor's Note:To learn more, click here and here.Woods
In the next KazanToday:
A teenager who cleaned up Buffalo, NY streets after a riot.
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