Last Thursday was a day dozens of women in the valley were looking forward to.
December 1 signals the end of Movember. It is the day that their men could head to the bathroom, lather up and rid themselves of the soup strainer on their upper lip. No longer did these poor girls have to feel like they were kissing a caterpillar, watch their man itch, or live in fear that he might actually like it and heaven forbid, maybe even keep it.
While dozens have volunteered this season, one of the most successful pushes came from employees with ATCO Electric. While the campaign was centred in the Drumheller area, they had a total of 51 participants from Drumheller, Hanna and Three Hills.
While the totals are still rolling in, it is expected they will be over the $6,000 mark in their efforts to raise funds for men’s health issues.
Patrick Charron was the captain of the ATCO Electric Movember team. This was the first time they took on the fraternal campaign.
The kicked off the campaign at the beginning of the month with a breakfast, and a clean shave, and commenced the growing of the moustaches.
From the outset, he said participants did not need to raise funds, and could just join in by growing their best Tom Selleck.
“Just being a part of the team raises awareness, so that was great,” said Charron.
Many did jump in to support the cause and collected sponsorship from family and friends.
Last week the crew got together for a fundraiser at Flavourz Restaurant in Drumheller on Saturday, November 26. They were able to collect more than 30 items from local sponsors and held a dinner and silent auction. ATCO Electric chipped in with an iPod Touch and then held a Loonie Drop, which in itself raised about $400.
“All and all, we raised about $1,500 for our team (at the event),” said Charron.
The team put together a trophy, which was up for grabs for the “mo-champion". The winner was chosen based on a criteria which included the state of the ‘stache, donations collected and participation. Dustin Andrew, who raised more than $1,200 alone, was presented the trophy on Thursday.
Charron says he is grateful to ATCO Electric, which was supportive of the team and allowed him time to work on the campaign. ATCO also has an employee volunteer program called ‘Time to Give,’ and Charron’s volunteer efforts on another project allowed him to make a donation to Movember.
