Schools

The Golden Beards Help Grow Prostate Cancer Awareness

The Golden Beards' fundraising and awareness campaign joins a long list of community service outreach efforts from the Upper Moreland Intermediate School.

Editor's Note:

In a previous edition of this article, the Intermediate School was misidentified as the Primary School. Patch regrets the error.

Jon DeMinico never saw the need to grow a full beard his entire life.

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However, reading an advertisement in Golf Digest magazine over the summer gave him a very good reason.

The advertisement, which he said could be found in several other men’s magazines, invited men to join an international organization called “Septembeard,” whose focus is raising funds and awareness to eradicate prostate cancer.

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The advertisement lead DeMinico to the Septembeard website, which describes the organization’s unique fundraising campaign.

According to the Septembeard website, prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men in recent years. As a way to help combat this statistic, and help eliminate prostate cancer enterirely, Septembeard asks men to become living fundraising and awareness icons by gathering donations as they grow their beards throughout the month of September.

September is widely recognized as National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.

The Septembeard organization invites both individual and team fundraising efforts.

DeMinico, whose uncle has prostate cancer, thought that his fellow male co-workers at might want to help.

“I thought it could be a fun fundraising process,” DeMinico said.

DeMinico, a third-grade Intermediate School teacher, admits that it was a little awkward at asking his male co-workers to participate in the campaign. However, by Back-to-School night, Sept. 6, DeMinico was able to gather a team of five other Intermediate School male staff members—a team that includes the school’s principal, .

“Nobody who’s doing this has had much facial hair,” DeMinico said.

DeMinico aptly named the team after the school’s mascot, the Golden Bears, calling it “The Golden Beards.”

“Golden Bears, Golden Beards, maybe it would grow districtwide,” he said.

At the Sept. 6 Back-to-School night, Waters included the reason why he didn't shave that morning in his address to all primary school parents.

Other staff, including DeMinico, did likewise in front of their classroom parents.

“I wanted to make it clear that I’m a respectable individual,” he said, adding that it was also the perfect opportunity to help raise awareness for prostate cancer.

Not shaving for a month was the most enticing aspect of the fundraising campaign for some of the team members.

During the month, he said that the Golden Beards team received much playful chiding from co-workers about their unshaven appearance, especially during faculty meetings, DeMinico said.

As this is the first year that the Intermediate School is hosting such a fundraising campaign, DeMinico said that most of the funds are faculty-driven.

Septembeard is a nonprofit organization, so all proceeds raisedvgo toward prostate cancer research.

According to DeMinico, the primary school is no stranger to fundraising efforts. Among other outreach opportunities, students and faculty wear pink during breast cancer fundraising campaigns,  help out with efforts, and prepare care packages for the homeless throughout the year.

However, unlike other fundraising efforts at the Intermediate School, where cash donations are accepted, Septembeard asks that donations are sent directly to the team’s Septembeard website.

DeMinico said that after a visitor makes a donation to the Golden Beards Septembeard website, which features an intuitive interface, visitors can directly choose which cancer research facility their donation will benefit.

According to DeMinico, University of Pennsylvania Hospital seems to be the most popular destination chosen.

So far, the Golden Beards have raised over $300 for Septembeard.  According to a Septembeard Tweet made this morning, the organization as a whole has just raised over $100,000, and is looking to finish off the month with over $110,000 in donations.

Now, during the fourth week of his first attempt at growing a beard, DeMinico seems pleased with the effort.

 “I had side burns and a soul patch, but it wasn’t as full as one would like,” he said.

Although donations may still be accepted after this month, most of the team will return to their original clean-shaven states, but they very well may grow facial hair again for next year’s Septembeard campaign.

As for DeMinico, he plans on growing his beard just a little while longer.

“It could turn into a Phillies playoff beard,” he said.

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For more information, visit the Golden Beards Septembeard website.


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