BLOOMFIELD, NJ -- Members of the Bloomfield
Police Department participated in No Shave November last month, and donated
$1,320 to Stand up to Cancer, last Wednesday, two days before shaving.
No Shave November is a month-long journey during which
participants forgo shaving and grooming in order to evoke conversation and
raise cancer awareness. It began organically after a father in Chicago passed
away from colon cancer and his children started this campaign in 2009 in honor
of their father. Over the past few years this became a popular thing to do
among many individuals and organizations throughout the country. Like most
other Police Departments, Bloomfield does not typically allow facial hair
besides moustaches.
“I waived our grooming policy for the month to allow our Officers to have a little bit of fun, provided we were donating money to a good cause like Stand up to Cancer,” said Director of Public Safety Samuel DeMaio.
“We raised $1,320.00 by collecting 20 dollars from each department member who
chose to grow a beard for the month. Our 67 participating Officers donated the
money to Stand up to Cancer at a ceremony Wednesday afternoon. I’m not
promising I’ll waive the grooming policy every year, but this month has been a
lot of fun, and a nice excuse to raise money for a worthy charity.”
Stand up to Cancer is a 501©(3) charitable organization
that funds research and treatment initiatives for Pancreatic, Lung, Breast,
Ovarian, Colon and Rectal, Prostate and other cancers, as well as Leukemia
Melanoma, and Brain Tumors. More than 180 clinical trials have been funded by
Stand up to Cancer, and over $603 million has been pledged to the work of more
than 1,500 scientists.
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