BEARDS FOR BLEEDERS
P.E.I.’s first beard and moustache competition raises $3,500 for Canadian Hemophilia Society
Since their eldest son was two years old, the McNeely family of South Granville has travelled to the IWK in Halifax twice a year with the help of the P.E.I. chapter of the Canadian Hemophilia Society.
As a way to give back to the society, the family helped organize the first beard and moustache competition in P.E.I. on Feb. 16 at Upstreet Brewery called Beards for Bleeders.
The event raised roughly $3,500 for the P.E.I. chapter of the Canadian Hemophilia Society.
“This is our way of giving back because there could be people who are in the same boat who have expenses, have emergencies and don’t have the money to fork out to travel,” said Donovan McNeely, the father of the family.
Declan, 7, and Tristan McNeely, 4, both have hemophilia A, while their sister Clara, 8, and mother Jennifer are carriers for hemophilia, a bleeding disorder that prevents blood from clotting properly because clotting proteins in the blood are not produced.
The boys get a protein replacement three times a week through a portacath in their chests.
“Without that treatment, if they bumped their knee, unlike anybody else who would be fine, they might start a slow bleed into their knee and it would just not stop,” said McNeely. “They have less than one per cent of that clotting protein.”
McNeely started fundraising for the Canadian Hemophilila Society four years ago when he adopted a no-shave initiative also called “Beards for Bleeders”, a hemophilia fundraiser which started in the United States. Participants raise money while growing a beard for six months.
While searching for items to auction for this year’s initiative, McNeely connected with Educated Beards, an organic and natural premium beard grooming product company based out of Fredericton, N.B.
Educated Beards’ owners Kevin Lebeouf and Alicia Phillips went a step further and helped come up with the idea to hold the beard competition charity event.
“I had no idea it would be this huge success and really cool event,” said McNeely. “It was phenomenal.”
The competition drew a crowd and met its capacity at roughly 100 people.
“There were 60 extra people who showed up throughout the evening that we had to turn away because the site was at capacity,”
said Phillips.
There were 47 competitors over six categories.
Categories included full beard under six inches, full beard over six inches, freestyle, moustache, fan favourite and whiskerina, which is a competition for females with pretend beards.
Judges were barbers and public figures who scored based on size, softness, colour, uniqueness and more.
Oyster Bed’s Jonathan Kemp won three categories, including full beard over six inches, moustache and fan favourite.
Kemp’s been growing his beard for about six years and estimates it reaches about 15 inches from his chin to the longest hair.
Kemp regularly competes in beard competitions across the Maritimes, often coming out the winner.
He said the main trick is maintaining it.
“The biggest thing is take care of it,” he said.
McNeely said they want to hold a competition again next year.