Group pays it forward at Promenade

Published 1:38 pm Thursday, February 25, 2010

As Earl Chaple awaited his turn at Alabaster’s Great Clips hair salon Feb. 23, he was unaware a group of strangers was about to change his day.

While the Alabaster resident envisioned his newest hair style, a local group called Do Something Good Today was planning a blitz of the Colonial Promenade Shopping Center.

“They came in and bought everyone’s haircuts, and said they were with a group called Dosomethinggoodtoday.com,” Chaple said. “There were probably nine or 10 of us in there, and they paid for everyone’s haircuts.

“They probably dropped more than $100 in there,” Chaple added.

Those with the group would not identify themselves, and urged everyone in the hair salon to repay the deed by being generous to others, Chaple said.

The anonymous group has been touring the Birmingham area and making random visits to businesses throughout the region for about two weeks, according to its Web site.

During the tour, they have purchased everything from groceries to gas for unsuspecting shoppers, and insist on remaining anonymous, according to the site.

“Dosomethinggoodtoday.com is sponsored by a local business that would like to remain anonymous at this time,” read the site. “All you need to know is that we love doing good for Birmingham, and this is just one way we are promoting a healthy, happy community.”

Though Chaple does not know the names of the people who purchased his haircut, he said they made a big impression on him.

“I thought they were only going to get the three or four people who were at the counter when they got there, but they bought haircuts for everyone in there,” Chaple said. “They weren’t handing out any kind of fliers or advertising anything, they were just a group of real nice people.

“When you have something nice done for you like that, it makes you want to go out and do something good for other people,” Chaple added. “It’s like a domino effect.”

To learn more about the group, and see a map of the group’s deeds, visit Dosomethinggoodtoday.com.