When I started growing facial hair, I couldn’t wait to shave. I thought that shaving was the manliest thing in the world, and I would love doing it. When I sat down and learned to shave, my father told me, “Welcome to the most annoying part of growing up.”
Ever since I learned to shave, I have dreaded it. I hate the razor burns I get on my face; I hate how often I need to do it as well as how often I need to buy new razors, shaving cream, etc. I eventually just stopped shaving for extended periods of time because I hated it so much.
When I was a junior in high school, I heard about this idea called No-Shave November, a month in which you don’t shave at all. I thought it was too good to be true, but I quickly learned that it had a legitimate following, and since then I have become a participant. Sometimes I would continue it into “Decembeard” and “Manuary,” two knockoff months that do not hold the same name as No-Shave November.
Last year, I found out you can raise money by having people sponsor your beard through a website called https://www.no-shave.org/, where people can donate money that goes toward multiple cancer research organizations including the American Cancer Society, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and more.
“No-Shave November is a web-based, nonprofit organization devoted to growing cancer awareness and raising funds to support cancer prevention, research and education,” according to the website.
You can make a difference by not doing something that next to everyone despises. I understand if you must stay groomed for a job or interview, but if you just don’t want to grow a beard, you can do something as simple as not getting a haircut, anything to “evoke conversation and raise cancer awareness.”
This initiative is great because it not only helps out a great cause, but it also brings together a community of people and gives them a commonality, something to talk about. Also, it gives people an excuse to grow a beard – something a lot of people say they want to do, but never follow through.
It is as simple as creating a personal page or a team page, signing up and using the power of word, of mouth, social media or email to raise money. Any organization can make a team and raise money. I know that the Zeta Beta Tau, Pi Kappa Phi and Sigma Chi fraternities have teamed up and are encouraging members of their organizations to participate in the festivities.
At a school like Alabama where philanthropy is huge, I encourage all to participate in such a simple event, whether through not shaving or just making a donation.
Jake Bass is a junior majoring in sports journalism. His column runs biweekly.
