Saugus barber shop cuts into profits to aid vets

SAUGUS – Mike Prochilo, owner of Mike’s Barber Shop, has always had the desire to give back to military veterans, so he and his employees worked for free on Veterans Day and donated proceeds to a veterans-related charity.”The freedoms we have in this country are due to the vets,” he said.Prochilo, whose father was in the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, said this year’s contribution totaled $1,100 to benefit the Saugus Veterans Wall. He said that amount is typical for his Central Street shop although an all-time high of $1,600 was raised three years ago.”It goes directly to the veterans, which is better than going to some big charity with someone making 300 grand a year,” he said.Since opening the shop 10 years ago, Prochilo has put out a donation box one month prior to Veterans Day.Employee Mike Pulicari said he was happy to give his Nov. 11 pay to veterans.”That’s what I do, that’s my way of giving back, to donate a day’s pay,” he said.Pulicari said the shop can always rely on their loyal group of customers for frequent donations throughout the month.”People throw a good amount of money in there,” said Pulicari. “They know what we’ve done, and we’ve done it for many years.”He acknowledged that, although the Veterans Administration provides services, more needs to be done for those who have risked their lives to protect the country.”It’s not an easy thing to work all day with no pay,” said Selectman and Navy veteran Stephen Castinetti, adding that there are about 1,400 veterans living in town. “I’m happy that there are people like Mike in the world.”