One month out of every year, people put away their shaving cream and razors as they participate in the altruistic “No Shave November.”

Originating in Chicago, the month-long philanthropy was introduced in 2009 by a family who wanted to raise funds for charity in honor of a relative who lost his life to colon cancer.  Since then, it has grown into a national phenomenon, with celebrities and influencers all participating in the benevolence. Ten years later, with capabilities on social media apps like Facebook, donating is as easy as clicking a button. 

According to the website No-Shave November (no-shave.org), the concept is simple: “The goal of No-Shave November is to grow awareness by embracing our hair, which many cancer patients lose, and letting it grow wild and free. Donate the money you typically spend on shaving and grooming to educate about cancer prevention, save lives, and aid those fighting the battle.”

Those who participate have the opportunity to help a vast group of people. In reference to the website for the American Cancer Society (cancer.org), in 2019 alone, “there will be an estimated 1,762,450 new cancer cases diagnosed and 606,880 cancer deaths in the United States.” Considering nearly two-million people will be diagnosed, any amount of service can help. With the attempts made by those who aren’t shaving, just short of one-million dollars has been raised for those fighting cancer.  

Senior, Adam Schmitt, talked about how he was able to participate with the help of campus organizations: “I had always known it was a philanthropy event. Two years ago, IFC (Interfraternity Council Recruitment) had put on a mustache competition which encouraged those in fraternities to participate.” Schmitt, talked about how his fraternity, Lambda Chi, will eventually do something comparable saying, “We were going to do it this November, however, there has been so many philanthropy events this month and we thought it’d be hard to get donations. So, we might do something similar next semester. Nonetheless, by not shaving we hope it’ll promote awareness for men’s health.”

With efforts like No-Shave November, it's the hope that something as simple as not shaving can help those in need.