LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The Las Vegas Raiders teamed up with barbershops and hair salons to provide free haircuts and hairstyling to children as they prepare to return to the classroom in about a week.

Elijah Molina sat in the barber chair, and like all students enrolled in the Clark County School District, he will be back in class on Monday, Aug. 11. Molina has aspirations of playing professional football, but said he is easing into it, opting to play flag football instead.

“I don’t really want to do tackle yet because my friend, he had a bunch of concussions already, so I don’t want to get that far yet,” Molina, 11, said.

But those are dreams of his future. Sunday morning, he’s enjoying a free haircut courtesy of the Raiders.

“I’m really thankful for it because like haircuts, they cost a lot of money right now,” Molina said.

School supplies are another thing that costs a lot of money right now. To give families a leg up, the Raiders also gave supplies at Sunday’s back-to-school event, which took place at the Expertise Barber Program located in North Las Vegas. It’s part of the team’s week-long effort to give back to the community.

“Like pencils, sharpeners. Some markers and some crayons and like a notebook,” 7-year-old McKenzie Dewitt said.

The kids being treated to haircare and school supplies are from the Nevada Youth Network, Pearson Community Center, and Doolittle Community Center.

“You got to have one of those fresh duds. Fresh cut. Man, you know, fresh backpack. It’s like major points. It actually sets the tempo for the year,” Louis Burton, a barber who volunteered on Sunday, said.

Several Raider players, including newly signed Quarterback Geno Smith, were on hand to greet the children and provide them with words of wisdom.

“Create your own story and leave your own legacy, that’s what I would tell them. Just to be yourself, and just to spread that joy and be able to empower the community around you,” Raiders Linebacker Amari Gainer said.

Some of the Raiders could see themselves in the children, who are eager to succeed and hang on to each player’s word.

“The kids run the world,” Raiders Linebacker Devin White said. “If you get them off to a great start, it just sets them up for a great future.”

Setting them up for success is what the Las Vegas Raiders are doing, leading in Southern Nevada by example.

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