While a few friends were catching up back in 2003, they jokingly brought up an idea to make the mustache fad a popular trend yet again in today’s fashion world. After rounding up 30 people willing to partake in growing unique mustaches/facial hair for the month of November, they officially named it Movember. The following year, after seeing how popular the idea had become, they decided to use this and an opportunity to raise money for men’s prostate cancer. The amount of people participating rose from 30 to 480 and their donations increased from $0 to over $40,000 in the first year.

Since then, Movember takes place in 21 different countries, the most common include  the UK and USA. The total donations have grown  from over $40,000 in 2004 to $710 million in 2015. After seeing a presentation on Movember during an HBMS volleyball game in 2015, the Hollis Police Department decided to take part. They began by raising money for MMRF (Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation). Whatever money they raise is sent to directly to the MMRF foundation.

When Officer Richard Bergeron, SRO at HBHS, was asked how Movember works at the Hollis Police Department  he said, “for Hollis Police, an officer needs to raise money for a charity that the department picked. If the officer agrees to raise money, he can grow facial hair which is against HPD Policy.” It’s not only Officer Bergeron taking part in Movember, though: most of the Hollis Police Officers are participating.

If anyone wishes to donate/participate in Movember, you can visit their site at https://us.movember.com/ for further information on how to do so.