Mustaches for Kids Kicks Off Today

By Steven Pate in Arts & Entertainment on Nov 16, 2010 5:20PM

A lot has happened since Mustaches for Kids Chicago first brought the facial-hair-for-charity concept to Chicago five years ago. David Axlerod steered the Obama campaign to victory. Gene Shalit retired.
Joe Somar changed the way we watched The People's Court forever. Some foreign product called "movember" was even imported. One thing that hasn't changed: good-hearted guys are still getting together and letting their upper lip go wild in order to raise money for a good cause.

Today is shaving day, when "growers" give their face one last clean sweep of the razor before enduring four weeks of follicle accumulation along their upper lip, shaving the rest of the face at least once a week. Growers then begin to solicit donations in support of their mustache through DonorsChoose.org. DonorsChoose.org is an online charity where teachers submit ideas for the materials and experiences that their students need to learn and individuals fund those requests (to the tune of over $60 million in resources to classrooms nationwide, from donors in 50 states, to date).

Three weekly checkpoints later, and the participants all get together for a Sweetest Stache Competition to raise more money, celebrate the most outstanding participants, and (presumably) do mustachey sorts of things, like Tom Selleck impersonations and comparing beer foam retention tips. Since the founding of its original Los Angeles chapter in 1999, M4K has raised over $1,000,000 for charities. A few growers have even been found among the Chicagoist ranks, with one actually documenting his participation.

You can help out by donating to M4K’s Chicago growers or making a general donation, by growing yourself, or by showing up to the kick-off event on Tuesday.

Shaving Day Kick-Off, Villians Bar & Grill, 649 S. Clark St., 7 p.m. Visit chicago.mustachesforkids.org for more information, including a complete set of rules.