A big hairy thank you to the fearless leaders of Mustaches for Kids – the chapter organizers! From the bottom of our DonorsChoose.org hearts, we are so appreciative of everything you have done to coordinate Mustache growth, while raising funds for local classroom projects.
Together, M4K Growers have tapped over 5,800 donors to give over $300,000 to local classrooms! This has benefited an amazing 170,000 public school students. And the numbers are still rising, as a handful of chapters are still smack in the middle of Growing Season…
We are amazed and inspired by this impact. And chapter organizers, we know that you are where the rubber meets the road! Or where the hair meets the lip. You get the idea. Shout-outs to the brains and brawn behind M4K:
Pranav “Master P-Stache” Saha is the fearless leader of Baltimore’s inaugural year of ’stache growth for good. His happy-go-lucky attitude, attention to all details, enthusiasm about his fellow brothers-in-stache, and spirit of healthy competition (Chicago, next year, you’re going DOWN if Pranav has anything to do with it) all made Baltimore’s first year of follicular development and recruitment all the more fun. Thanks, Master P-Stache!
Joe “Moses” Romanelli is the King of Mustaches in Charlotte. From his graphics wizardry, to his recruiting skills, to lending us wife who is the local Mustache mascot, to his enduring a Mustache that inexplicably parts on the left side, Joe is the man. We love him for his Mustache, and we love him for making M4K Charlotte happen.
Joe “Growzer the Growzarian” Baker is the fearless leader of Chicago M4K, along with his partner in crime, Gwen P. Joe and Gwen ensured that all Chicago growers had a rip-roaring time while raising more than $29,000 for teachers and students in Chicago Public Schools. Huge shout-out to Joe and Gwen for keeping the growers organized and happy. Thanks also to Joe and Gwen for their persistence and diligence and knowing how to throw great checkpoint parties!
Kipper “Shady Mechanic” Stiever, the co-organizer of M4K Denver, is a long-time fan of DonorsChoose.org. He founded the “small, but potent” Denver chapter after receiving a DonorsChoose.org announcement in October. While he is not grooming his ’stache, he works on classic cars and hangs out with his wonderful wife, Cary, and one-year-old son, Owen. His illustrious side-kick, and chapter co-organizer, Melissa Brown, recently moved to Denver from Charlotte. Having witnessed an M4K chapter first-hand, she jumped at the chance to organize M4K events, and talk a lot of smack via Facebook, to her Grower friends in Charlotte.
Jay “Captain Stachetastic” Swanson was indeed the captain of M4K Detroit. Along with his First Mate, Meghann Mott, Jay relentlessly recruited growers for this brand new chapter and helped raise $2,196 for teachers in the Motor City. Kudos to Jay, Meghann, and the inaugural growers of Detroit’s first M4K chapter.
A great big thank you goes out to our friends at echoTorre Lazur (a fantastic public relations and marketing firm), who committed to growing marketing friendly mustaches and made sure they were up to par with their masterfully created mustache board which outlined various mustache types and heroes. These fearless first-time growers aka “echoStaches” led the Garden State’s fundraising by generating more than $1,500 for classroom projects in NJ! Thank you echoStaches!
Jason McElweenie ran the show for the M4K Houston chapter. From the humorous weekly blog postings to organizing the weekly events at Leon’s Lounge, Jason ensured the M4K Houston chapter was a great success. We are grateful for all his hard work and we know the thousands of Houston students that benefited are too!
Jessica Barrow, aka Mustache Queen of Long Beach, sent mass emails, produced fliers and rallied local bar owners to lead a small but proud group of Growers. One Crower, Simeon, kept a day-by-day growth chart. Jess rewarded his efforts with vino and some razors! Thanks Jess for rallying donations to support 310 students in classrooms throughout Southern California!
Mr. Scott “My Mustache Wears Me” Davis and Miss Zane “La Senora de Los Bigotes Dulces” Stumbrs are the leaders of the Los Angeles Chapter of M4KLA. They went above and beyond the call of duty and not only organized checkpoints across the city (getting folks to come out in LA traffic is no easy task!), but also had extra-curricular ’staches in the form of an all-mustachioed improv performance, “Stache Prov,” and a hilarious video homage to the patron saint of mustaches (check it out on Funny or Die). Huge thanks to Scott and Zane for their outreach, organization and obsession with Magnum PI!
Mitch “Murstache” Goldman is the brain child behind M4K New York. And the national go-to guy for all things Mustache-related. From his talented mustache vocabulary and his way with words, to his unique mustache schwag and images (to be seen on M4K NY T-Shirts and M4K NY business cards), we are all convinced that Mitch can make anyone grow a mustache for four weeks! New York, and the rest of the big, bad, hairy world, loves you Mitch!
Jen Spencer, Bud Hinman, and Samir Patel are the founders of M4K Philadelphia. In record time, they have recruited Growers and created a brand new chapter with a swanky new website. Also, with an unprecedented amount of bravery around their Growing Season dates, these guys just started growing, and they will have Mustaches on New Year’s Eve. Thanks, guys, for getting your chapter “up and running!”
Sam “Urinal Grass” Richard is the leader of the newly formed Phoenix chapter of M4K. Despite the ew!-factor of his mustache name, his upper lip plumage actually turned out pretty well. Sam did a fabulous job with the Phoenix group: documenting ’stache growing on his blog and keeping everyone involved and excited about their facial hair. Though Sam’s best decision may have been betting a DonorsChoose.org staffer on the outcome of an ASU/UCLA football game - who would have thought UCLA would lose by 25 points? Our heartiest, hairiest thanks to Sam, Zack, and Justin for their help! And a shout out to Justin, who sums up the experience on his blog.
Chrissy Purcell and Sarah Compton are the fearless female leaders of M4K Portland. They both graduated from Lewis & Clark. When they are not busy whipping the Portland growers into shape, Chrissy works for the Art Institute of Portland and Sarah is a consultant in training/website builder (and spends too much time in the kitchen).
Adam Ellsworth is the Head Stache in Sactown and rallied his troops to raise cash for classrooms. On Shave Day, Adam was featured preparing his face for growing season in the Capitol Weekly.
Jon Wolanske and Alex Estrovitz are the co-organizers of M4K San Francisco. Involved with Mustaches for Kids for 7 years, Jon is an energetic emcee, leader and copywriter. He also gets his kicks by participating in a sketch comedy group in San Francisco. The super-organized Alex is also in the advertising world and has a baby soon on the way!
John Bui is a student at San Jose State and this is his first year with Mustaches for Kids. John’s passion is foreign language studies and he presided over a group of San Jose growers including students, teachers and a principal!
Another big thanks goes to our friends at Steinberg Asset Management, who committed to growing mustaches like they grow assets. These brave first-time Growers, led by experienced Grower Steven “The Stache” Feld, raised more than $5,000 for classroom projects! They also held a special ‘Stache Bash at Steinberg Asset Management offices at which the entire firm celebrated their growing team’s outstanding facial hair achievements.
Sean “Flanders” Wallace, who is in charge of MS Science and Technology at Irasburg Village School, rallied his fellow teachers to create a chapter in Vermont. Thanks, Sean, and hope your Mustaches kept you warm in the early winter months!
Ronny Smith, the Stache King of UC Davis and Delta Sig, has been involved with his fraternity since his freshman year at Davis, and led his brothers to the number one slot on the college M4K leaderboard!
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