Who We Are
Our Mission
Have Shears Will Travel is a non-profit hair care ministry organized to serve the local community with special needs that restrict their ability to obtain these services due to physical impairment, lack of transportation, or financial means.
Executive Director, Barbara Goodson
Our History
In her 60’s, when many people would be preparing for retirement, native Houstonian Barbara Goodson closed the door on her career in the oil and gas industry and embarked on a new journey – starting a 501c3 nonprofit built around her passions for hairstyling and serving those in need. A former hairstylist, Barbara kept her license current throughout her career, providing haircuts for family, friends, the elderly, and the ill in her spare time.
Upon discovering in February 2015 that her employer, Clayton Williams Energy, would be closing due to the oil bust, Barbara knew the time was right to transform her hobby into something with a far greater impact. Fueled by Episcopal Bishop Andy Doyle’s call to community service, Barbara decided it was time to turn her passion into a full-time charity.
By April 2015, Barbara had launched Have Shears Will Travel, a nonprofit organization with a mission “to serve the local community with special needs that restrict their ability to obtain these services due to physical impairment, lack of transportation or financial means.” A committed board of directors to help steer the organization and donors with a heart for the mission provided evidence to Barbara that God was at work!
In the early days, Have Shears Will Travel was comprised of Barbara driving from venue to venue with some hairstyling tools tossed in the back seat of her car. From that humble beginning, Have Shears Will Travel has blossomed into a successful, multiple award-winning nonprofit organization. With a staff of 7, a team of dedicated volunteers, and an RV mobile salon, Have Shears Will Travel provides over 700 free haircuts monthly at more than 45 local nonprofit agencies, children’s hospitals, homeless shelters, and bedside for homebound seniors and hospice patients.
To enhance her knowledge and ensure that Have Shears Will Travel was positioned for long-term success, Barbara earned her Certificate with Distinction in Nonprofit Leadership from Rice University in 2019.
As a result of Barbara’s fateful decision in 2015, more than 36,000 people in need have received free grooming services, including those who are homeless, children in group homes, soldiers with PTSD, abandoned mothers or children due to substance abuse or domestic violence, those struggling with the shame of incarceration, a patient hanging onto life in hospice care, special needs adults, hospitalized children and more. Barbara and Have Shears Will Travel has delivered a sense of love and dignity pursuant to the tagline – “Enhancing the Dignity of Every Client.”
What is next for Barbara and Have Shears Will Travel? The organization is currently in the fundraising stage of opening the Shear Success Barber & Cosmetology Training Center to provide an educational arm with lower-than-market tuition rates and scholarships to those who cannot afford the tuition. In this way, low-income men and women have the opportunity to earn a livable wage, ensuring their sustainable independence. In addition to running a successful nonprofit, Barbara is married to her husband, Steve, with three children, two bonus children, fourteen grandchildren, and the first great-grandchild on the way. Her family and her work in the community through Have Shears Will Travel continue to bring her great joy. Barbara lives life in the true spirit of her motto – “Blessed to be a blessing.”