While some people may have shaved their moustaches on Dec. 1, and others may have turned their thoughts to the holiday season, staff members at Gordon F. Kells high school in Carlyle still had a few things left to settle up as part of their Movember fundraiser come Dec. 22.
Starting Nov. 1, the male teachers and support staff at G.F.K. participated in a world-wide phenomenon by growing moustaches in order to raise awareness of men's health issues. While the money raised throughout the world during the 2011 moustache growing season has yet to be finalized, the increasingly popular tradition raised $76.8 million in 2010 alone for the leading type of cancer in men - prostate cancer. Of that total, $23.3 million was raised in Canada where funds went directly to Prostate Cancer Canada.
During the second week of November, donation jars were set up at G.F.K. high school. Students and staff were then able to not only donate money towards the cause, but vote for their favourite moustache through those donations.
When all was said and done, more than $1,000 was raised for the cause during the month of November. But the fun didn't stop there. During the initial organization of the fundraiser, male staff members agreed to volunteer their faces for an additional fundraiser with only the 'grower' raising the most money being exempt.
As a result, staff members, with the exception of teacher Jayson Corrigan who raised the most money in November, finished off their final day of school before Christmas holidays with a pie-in-the-face fundraiser. As male staff members took their spot, students lined up to donate $1 to the cause in exchange for a pie plate filled with whip cream.
Students and staff alike were all smiles as more than $100 was raised during the afternoon. All supplies for the pie-in-the-face fundraiser were donated by Carlyle Food World.
The combined total of funds raised for Movember by G.F.K. staff and students totalled more than $1,100.
