A Louisiana sheriff has extended his “No Shave November” fundraiser to a year-round “No Shave Forever” after it brought in around $4,000 in donations to a variety of causes in two months.
Sheriff Craig Webre of the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office said that he plans to extend the fundraiser that allows his employees to grow beards if they donate to a cause after witnessing its success.
“After what we’ve been through in the past two years, I figured there’s plenty of great causes to allow this to continue all year. So, I am changing No Shave November into No Shave Forever.”
As part of the initiative, Sheriff’s office deputies and employees donated $25 per month for November and December to be allowed to grow beards, or if they can’t grow one, they can dress casually on Fridays.
The department has so far raised $2,595 for the American Cancer Society, $1,260 for Special Olympics Louisiana, and raised smaller amounts for nonprofits like Wheelchairs for Warriors and the American Red Cross.
Capt. Brennan Matherne, spokesman for the sheriff’s office, told the AP that around 150 of the department’s 350 employees have participated – a third of whom are women.
“The idea of having a casual Friday every Friday with no uniforms is definitely something they are excited about,” he said, referring to the female employees.
Although patrol deputies must still wear uniforms, Webre relaxed his policies to allow them to wear short-sleeved shirts without neckties throughout the entire year.
“Beards have become more commonplace and accepted in our society, even in professional settings,” Webre said. “The public has had a positive reception to our deputies’ beards. I’ve even received positive comments myself, so I will be participating along with many deputies, and it’s all for great causes,” Webre added.