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Baltimore is at it again. Last night, gentlemen across the city gathered at The Reserve to shave their faces clean and start growing Mustaches for Baltimore Kids.

One of the reasons why we love Baltimore so much is because they seem to get more excited than any other city about their Mustaches for Kids “Growing Season”.

Check out Liz Bowie’s article in the Baltimore Sun.

And, check out this amazing email below from our Mustache hero, Dr. Andres Alonso, the CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools. He is absolutely the best:

From: Andres A. Alonso, Ed.D [mailto:Partners@bcps.k12.md.us]
Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 5:44 PM
Subject: Mustaches for Kids

November 17, 2009

Dear City Schools Partners and Friends,

Sometimes, someone has an idea so simple, so full of goodness and common sense that you just have to stop and wonder, “How did somebody not think of it before?”

One such idea, which I first learned about last year from Bob Heck, a member of the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners, is the spark of genius of the great organization, DonorsChoose.org.

We know that our teachers have extraordinary creativity, and that the discretionary funds they receive for classroom projects don’t begin to do that creativity justice. So DonorsChoose.org had the idea to bring together worthy projects proposed by teachers—incredibly creative and unique—and the contributions of the general public—both great and small. Then DonorsChoose.org had another bright idea: to combine this pairing of projects and donors with a Mustaches for Kids (M4K) Challenge, in which “growers” from across the United States and Canada grow mustaches to raise money for kids.

So last year, City Schools teachers and I participated in the M4K challenge and collectively raised $24,500 from 310 sponsors for classroom projects requested by our teachers through Donorschoose.org. We ranked 5th out of 30-plus participating cities—behind Chicago ($29,356), Charlotte ($64,843), San Francisco ($78,389) and New York ($80,901). This year I’d like us to do even better. Yes, of course I’d like to beat New York. But more importantly, I’d really like to see us raise more money for our kids.

So this evening I am going home to shave and for the second straight year I will be briefly sporting my naturally handsome and youthful, clean-shaven face. Be assured, the real me will be back before winter sets in. But right now, the City Schools teachers who are joining me in this challenge and I need your help. Please sponsor my mustache—or, if you absolutely must, the mustache of a fellow City Schools grower—and fund a classroom project requested by a City Schools teacher through DonorsChoose.org.

Click here, and then click the name of your favorite grower. This takes you to a page where you can choose from a list of projects needing sponsors, and all you need to do is choose one and make a donation. DonorsChoose.org takes care of the rest. It sends your money to the project you choose, it keeps tally of how much we as a school system raise overall, and it tracks how we rank among the competition. And because this allows us to raise money from across the country for Baltimore City’s classrooms, I urge you to share this message with all of your colleagues, family and friends.

Between now and mid-December a number of members of the City Schools family and I will be coaxing and preening our whiskers to raise money for classroom projects across the city, and we want you in on the fun! Watch our stubble grow, and yes, teasing is fair game—as long as you give…

Thank you. And thank you for all you do to support our kids and our schools.

Sincerely,
Andrés A. Alonso, Ed.D.
CEO, Baltimore City Public Schools

Mailing Address:
Baltimore City Public Schools
200 East North Ave
Baltimore, MD 21202
US

Support Baltimore Mustaches here!

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Last December, Mrs. Hardgrave’s proposal “Lewis and Clark” was funded thanks to Dallas Mustaches For Kids grower, Jon Alexis and the generous donors who sponsored his mustache. The classroom received 30 copies of the book, “Captain’s Dog: My Journey with the Lewis and Clark Tribe” and part of the project included creating a museum about every leg of the journey.

Walnut Glen Academy fifth graders got the chance to share their museum for the entire school and parents last week, and invited Mr. Alexis and his sponsors to witness the impact his mustache made on the students.

The museum filled the entire gym and students dressed in elaborate costumes performed skits centered around the Lewis & Clark expedition. Subjects included excerpts from Lewis’ journals, the Louisiana Purchase, food they ate on the trail, animals they discovered, Native Americas they encountered and even lesser-known people who played a crucial role in the expedition.

Click here to view the “Lewis and Clark” project.

Click here to learn more about Mustaches For Kids.

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Ariba!!!

Our friends at Ariba edged out the very stiff competition at Bank of America and TuneUp Media – even beating out our very own DonorsChoose.org Growers.

Ariba’s four-week mustache Growing Season mobilized 400+ donors to raise more than $16,000 and reach over 4,500 high-need students.

‘Stache kudos and many, many thanks to the Ariba Growers, and their fearless leader Melvin, for making this season an outrageously successful one.

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In the last two weeks, Virginia Tech students have been growing Mustaches, while raising pledges for local classrooms through DonorsChoose.org. In an impressive showing, they have already inspired 43 donors to donate over $1,000 to classrooms in need. To support Virginia Tech in its Mustache journey, you can visit the Growers’ Giving Pages at DonorsChoose.org. You can also visit their hilarious Mustaches for Kids website. GO HOKIES!

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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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