A Good Month to Grow a Beard
November has arrived and things are going to really get hairy now.
Every November, two charitable organizations I like, Movember and No-Shave November, raise funds by encouraging people to not cut or shave their hair.
Movember began in Australia in 2003 when two friends joked about bringing back the moustache (or “mo”) as a male fashion trend.
Inspired by a friend’s mother who was fundraising for breast cancer, they decided to create a Movember campaign in which men grow moustaches to raise funds for men’s health and prostate cancer.
No-Shave November “is a month-long journey during which participants forgo shaving and grooming in order to evoke conversation and raise cancer awareness,” according to the organization’s website.
It was formalized in 2009, after Matthew Hill passed away from colon cancer and his eight children created the charitable organization to raise funds for cancer research.
Both organizations have made November a very fun month as people share photos of their thickening facial hair on social media.
I’ve grown a goatee a few times over the years, but never went full beard until covid turned half the country into homebodies.
Not having to shave every morning was a gift from the heavens.
But an unexpected benefit of sporting a thick, graying beard was that strangers finally give me some respect — as though I am a college professor or some kind of dignitary.
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Copyright 2021 Tom Purcell, All Rights Reserved. Credit: Cagle.com
