An 82-year-old veteran who seeks to "help the least of our brothers" by offering free haircuts to the homeless in Hartford, Conn., has been granted special permission by the city's mayor to continue his charitable work in the small east coast town after being temporarily banned last week.

Anthony Cymerys of Windsor, Conn., has been offering free haircuts in exchange for hugs in Bushnell Park every Wednesday for the past 25 years, until last Wednesday, when city health officials and police told him to close up shop due to reported concerns of "safety and sanitation" from local residents, according to The Associated Press.

Additionally, some anonymous residents reportedly complained because Cymerys did not have a barber's license, and many weeks his friends would join him at the park to help hand food out to the needy, which some argued was unsanitary. more >>

Raised in a conservative, loving, Christian home in New Jersey, Scott Harrison, the founder of charity: water, has travelled from complete self-indulgence to truly discovering Jesus and on the way become an inspriing example of melding faith and work to literally help millions.

An only child, Harrison was active in his family's church and briefly attended Christian school. After pleading with his parents to go to public school, he got his wish in the 10th grade. He joined a band and grew his hair long. "Everything I said I wasn't going to do, I slowly started to do," he says of this period in his life.

When he turned 18, Harrison left for New York City and landed a lucrative job promoting nightclubs. Working a couple nights a week, his job was to "get beautiful people" into clubs, with the benefits of free booze and an income. He started off producing an R&B show at the legendary club Nells, where musicians like Prince and Stevie Wonder played. His next gig was to promote another club three nights a week that was right around the corner, called Lotus, where models and celebrities hung out. On the weekends he might fly to Paris. more >>

Christian human rights organization International Justice Mission has helped free 273 forced laborers in the nation of India this week in what is the second-largest anti-slavery operation that IJM has been involved in.  

Working with local authorities, International Justice Mission was able to successfully remove slave laborers from two brick factories located in Chennai on Tuesday.  

Saju Mathew, IJM director of Operations for South Asia, told The Christian Post about the history of the group's efforts regarding human trafficking.  "IJM has been working with local authorities to fight human trafficking in South Asia since the organization was established in 1997, with IJM's first field office dedicated to combat labor trafficking opening in 2001," said Mathew. more >>

Willow Creek Community Church, founded nearly 40 years ago by Senior Pastor Bill Hybels as an "Acts 2 church," has opened the doors of its new 60,000 square-foot, $10 million Care Center in South Barrington, Ill., to provide thousands of local families continued access to a grocery store-styled food pantry, car repair and donation services, dental and optometry clinics, legal assistance and a whole lot more.

The Care Center, launched on June 3 after 10 years of planning, has been called "a Christian Walmart for the poor" by one publication due to its approach and layout, which resembles more of a high-end shopping mall than a thrift shop or traditional food pantry, according to The Chicago Tribune.

While Willow Creek typically identifies Acts 2:42-47 as its key biblical inspiration, the newly-expanded Care Center points to verse 45 as the foundation for its vision: "They (a community that believed in Jesus as Lord and Messiah) sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need." more >>

A new social movement is needed in the Church in America that reconciles Billy Graham's message with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s march, the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez argues in his new book, The Lamb's Agenda: Why Jesus is Calling You to a Life of Righteousness and Justice.

Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Leadership Conference and a senior editorial advisor for The Christian Post, uses Graham and King to symbolize two dimensions of the Christian mission. Like the cross, there is the vertical dimension that looks to God and is concerned with personal righteousness and the horizontal dimension that looks to others and is concerned with justice.

In an interview with The Christian Post, Rodriguez talked about how this movement became his life's mission and the proper role of Christians in the political sphere. more >>

A Catholic Archdiocese located in Illinois has launched a charity aimed at raising $350 million to fund its education programs, reportedly the largest charity drive any American diocese has attempted.

Francis Cardinal George, head of The Archdiocese of Chicago, announced the effort at St. Stanislaus Kostka School on at a press conference Wednesday.

"The Catholic schools of the Archdiocese of Chicago and our faith formation programs make their case in the lives of those transformed by them," said Cardinal George in a message posted online. more >>