BY JOHN SNYDER
OF PASCACK PRESS
HILLSDALE, N.J. —— Beards and moustaches that police officers cultivated all November came off with a flourish—and for a good cause—Dec. 5 at The Shave Bar & Barbershop on Broadway.
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Members of the Hillsdale Police Department and Policemen’s Benevolent Association Local 207 grew their hair as part of a No-Shave November campaign to raise funds for a Westwood-based nonprofit that aids families of first responders.
Nearly a dozen officers participated, raising $2,090 for the organization, Mayday Missions, as it helps Joey Bulger of Westwood, who is fighting acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Joey is the son of River Vale Police Sgt. Chris Bulger and his wife Lauren, a social worker.
“I’m extremely proud of our officers. I couldn’t be more pleased with our efforts, and we’d like to keep this an annual tradition,” Police Capt. Sean Smith told Pascack Press.
He explained that officers are not allowed to grow beards at other times of the year.
“We stepped out of our regulations for a good cause,” he said.
Evan Vidal, owner of the Shave Bar and Barbershop, donated the officers’ shaves for a second year in a row. He told Pascack Press that he’s all about giving back to the community.
“We’re up for anything charitable whatsoever. Especially when it comes to facial hair—that’s our forte,” he said. “We like to support a good cause, especially one that has to do with our local police officers.”
No-Shave November is a web-based, nonprofit organization devoted to boosting cancer awareness and raising funds to support cancer prevention, research, and education.
The organization says it’s raised more than $3.5 million to combat the disease.
“The rules of No-Shave November are simple: put down your razor for 30 days and donate your monthly hair-maintenance expenses to the cause. Strict dress-code at work? Don’t worry about it! We encourage participation of any kind; grooming and trimming are perfectly acceptable,” the project’s website explains.
Last year the department and PBA took on No-Shave November for the Hillsdale Food Pantry.
Photos of Tuesday’s trims were taken by Councilman Zoltan Horvath, the borough’s official photographer. You can see them at http://photos.digitalvisionphotography.us under events.
For more information about Mayday Missions, formerly Rock For a Reason, visit MaydayMissions.org.
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Photos by Zoltan Horvath