Police officers grow beards to raise money for charity
LOWER PROVIDENCE >>
When you think of an iconic mustache, who comes to mind? Burt Reynolds? Tom Selleck? Hulk Hogan?
There’s no better time than “Movember,” sometimes known as National Mustache Month, for a male to consider emulating one of the above or another mustachioed fellow for a good cause.
As the popular facial hair look of the 1970s stages a comeback, some men who set their own pace have always believed a fearless and hairy upper lip can convey a timeless individuality all its own, as does the ever-popular goatee.
According to the creators of Movember.com, November is the month when men across the U.S. become “Mo Bros” on a mission, to benefit men’s health charities that support prostate cancer, suicide prevention and other issues that affect men.
(“Movember” is the combination of the words mustache and November.)
Lower Providence Police officers are ditching the razor during turkey month, and putting their own stamp on the movement by doing something they’re normally not permitted to do.
The men have taken some liberties regarding the art of manly behavior by opting for another timeless facial look: beards.
“The Movember organization wants to do things that will start conversations,” explained Sgt. Matthew Kuhnert. “They support growing mustaches and using them as conversation starters, because mustaches are not in style right now. Well, we allow guys to have mustaches but not beards. So we’re doing a complete no shave, growing the full beard. We’re prohibited in the department from having beards; we’re only allowed to have mustaches, so we’re allowing our officers to have beards, which is a conversation starter. People look at us and say, ‘why are you growing a beard?’ And we can say, this is why. Our officers decided we were going to buy into the Movember organization and then all the proceeds from the public would go to the foundation, which goes to solving men’s health issues as well as suicide prevention. We’ll be donating close to $400 from the department, plus so far we’re up to around $175 from the public.”
On the Lower Providence Township Police Department page, Kuhnert posted a few officers’ clean-shaven photos and wrote, “No Shave November is under way and members of the LPPD are well on their way to creating faces of furry greatness! Here are a few of the ‘blank canvases’ on day 1. Please consider donating to our effort directly on our Movember team page, Lower Providence PD’s Face Fur, by following the link below. Any amount is appreciated. https://moteam. co/lower-providence-pd-sface-fur?mc=1”
Kuhnert said it’s all about bringing awareness to issues affecting men.
“We’re trying to bring awareness to men’s health and suicide prevention, which is close to our hearts. Like every other police department we have officers who’ve gone through some stuff, and we thought this was a good organization to bring attention to some of those issues,” he noted. “This is our first time around so we’re just trying to get the word out. If we can also get the word out about suicide prevention, which is very near and dear to my heart and the police department’s heart, that’s what we’re trying to do. Some of the funds will go to initiatives that are working to prevent suicide, so it’s all under the Movember umbrella. That’s just one facet of what they do.”
The Movember Foundation started in 2003 with 30 men in Australia who decided to single handedly bring back the mustache,, according to the nonprofit, which raises funds and awareness for prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention.
Norristown Police Department’s version of a hairy November gives officers the opportunity to sport their facial hair all while raising funds for the Norristown Police Foundation. Support these officers with a donation to the Norristown Police Foundation, 235 E. Airy Street, Norristown, PA 19401 or through Venmo at NPDFoundation.
Donations will be accepted through Nov. 30.