Columbia, SC (WLTX) - Ridge View High School made over $1,200 in their third annual 'Cuts for Gabbiee' event, honoring their late student Gabrielle Swainson.
It's been three years since Swainson was abducted and murdered in Northeast Columbia by Freddie Grant.
"She was a wonderful student here, she was a part of our bio health program, and she had a very unique personality," Assistant Principal Marlon Thomas said.
The search for the Ridge View High school cheerleader brought a heartbroken community together at the time, and years later, the community came together again for their annual fundraiser.
"We just wanted to remember her, so this is about keeping her legacy and making sure that we honor her," Thomas said.
Barbers from around the northeast volunteered their Sunday to anyone who wanted a haircut.
Between the $5 cost per haircut and the donations collected today, the proceeds will go to scholarships for high school seniors and the Master Haircare Program at Ridge View.
"It's just taking a tragedy and turning it into a blessing to help another child to succeed, because she would have certainly succeeded in all that she did in life and in college," a mother of a Ridge View High Cheerleader and Richland II Board member, Amelia McKie said.
The school is still accepting donations by checks payable to Ridge View's PTSO.
