Beardvember: Curing Cancer One Beard at a Time

And just when you thought we were done… Here is...

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 10:20:06 -0500

And just when you thought we were done…

Here is Beardvember participant Michael Leibowitz after 30 days of growth. Michael helped us reach our goal of raising $10,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Thanks to Michael and all of our participants, donors, and supporters for making Beardvember 2011 such a great success.

See all you hairy mugs next year!

Celebrate with us Tonight!

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 10:06:06 -0500

Join us tonight as we celebrate a very successful Beardvember, having raised $10,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!

When: Thursday, December 1, 2011, 6:30-8:00 PM

Where: Tavern in the Square, Porter Square, Cambridge, MA (map and directions)

Who: YOU, Beardvember participants from the greater Boston area (and even beyond!), and the inspiration for Beardvember: Rick & Evalyn Merrick!

Come have a drink and appetizers on us!

We Did It!!

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 22:48:28 -0500

One month ago today, we again embarked on a journey to challenge the faces of the world to grow like they had never grown before, making co-workers, neighbors, and family stop to stare at our collective scruff and ask “what is that unruly growth coming out from your face?”

Most importantly, though, we set out to call attention to our cause: raising awareness, raising hope, and raising money for cancer research. Along the way, we provided critical information about cancer prevention and early detection, as well as facts about the widespread impact of blood cancers. For our fundraising goal, we asked family, friends, colleagues, and strangers to pitch-in and help raise $10,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Today, we can happily report that the pending checks, pledges, and online donations add up to more than $10,000, achieving and surpassing our goal!! Congratulations to all of the participants and to each of you who visited our site, spread the word, and donated to the cause. We couldn’t have done it without you.

We hope you will check out the website, www.beardvember.com, and see who joined us this year to help us “grow” and to make Beardvember 2011 such a success.

Thanks again to all of you who donated and participated, and who supported our facial growth throughout the month. We hope you will join us again next year!

Have a wonderful, happy, and healthy holiday season!

The Beardvember Team

Hey ladies, didn’t think you could participate? Well here...

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 22:01:06 -0500

Hey ladies, didn’t think you could participate? Well here is Cassandra Rivera, proving all of you doubters wrong! Thanks for your support, Cassandra!

Individual and Team Goals

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 21:43:33 -0500

As Beardvember nears its end, we’d like to recognize a few Beardvember participants who set fundraising goals and, in most cases, far exceeded them! The below people deserve a big thanks from all of us!

Michael Leibowitz

Mario Mendoza

Arturo Ochoa

Ernesto Ramirez

Team Scruff and Buff: Dr. Eddy Furniss, Bill Richardson, Nate Stark, and Robert Lee

Team BGC Partners: Alexis Feliciano, Rick Gerard, Steve Cudzil, John Pagan, Sean Hurley, and Carlos Aguilera

Representing the entire Gannon Family, here is Josh...

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 20:18:30 -0500

Representing the entire Gannon Family, here is Josh Gannon’s very impressive beard! Great growth, Josh! A big thanks to you, Kate, Larry, and Karen for all of your support!

Here is Team BGC Partners, who earlier today reached their goal...

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 17:05:00 -0500

Here is Team BGC Partners, who earlier today reached their goal of raising $5000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society! Thank you, and congrats!

Front Row (l-r): John Pagan, Sean Hurley, Carlos Aguilera

Back Row (l-r): Alexis Feliciano, Rick Gerard, Steve Cudzil

Beardwatch, Day 30: Sam Beecher’s beard is clearly ready...

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 16:02:05 -0500

Beardwatch, Day 30: Sam Beecher’s beard is clearly ready for prime time! Nice work, Sam, and thanks for your participation in Beardvember!

Team BGC Partners raises more than $5000 for Beardvember!

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 14:36:00 -0500

We want to congratulate Alexis Feliciano and his team, BGC Partners, for exceeding their goal to raise $5000 for Beardvember!

Alexis has been one of Beardvember’s most dedicated members, and we can’t thank him and the entire team enough for contributing and helping to make Beardvember a big success.

Again, thanks and congrats to Alexis and his team: John Pagan, Carlos Aguilera, Steve Cudzil, Sean Hurley, Rob McCormick, Rick Gerard, and Bill Babis

Great work!!

Beardvember’s Mario Mendoza shows off 30 days of growth! ...

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 11:07:00 -0500

Beardvember’s Mario Mendoza shows off 30 days of growth! Thank you, Mario, for your support of Beardvember! While Mario hit his goal of raising $250 earlier this month, he has continued to raise money and awareness.

With less than 14 hours, you can still help Beardvember reach our goal of raising $10,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society! Donate now!

14 Hours to Raise Hope

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 09:44:00 -0500

29 days ago we set out to once again call attention to an important cause, to raise money for cancer research, and to have some fun in the process. Thanks to you and our many supporters, we’ve been able to raise $7,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Evalyn and Rick Merrick are cancer survivors because of generous people like you. They are two examples of the many thousands of people who continue to live with these terrifying diseases with the hope that someday soon we WILL find a cure.

In the next 14 hours, help us raise the final $3,000 to reach our goal of raising $10,000. Donate now!

Regardless of the final number, we can be proud of our efforts to raise awareness for this important cause, and believe we have raised hope for thousands of cancer patients in their time of need.

14 hours from now, the 45 “official” participants will shave their beards, real or otherwise, and Beardvember will come to a close. However, our work to help others who struggle daily will never end. We will continue working to find a cure.

On behalf of Evalyn and Rick Merrick, all of the participants, the nearly 100 donors, supporters, family, friends, and colleagues, cancer patients and survivors everywhere, we say thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

The Beardvember Team

Scott Merrick

Rachel Merrick Maggs

Scott Maggs

P.S. We hope you can join as at Tavern in the Square, Porter Square, Cambridge, MA tomorrow evening (Dec. 1) from 6:30-8:00 PM as we celebrate another successful Beardvember! Visit www.beardvember.com for details.

Beardvember Participants!

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 23:13:45 -0500

With 25 hours left, Beardvember wants to take a moment and recognize all of our participants for their support. Thanks in large part to their efforts, we’ve raised awareness of this important cause, and raised nearly $7,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. And we’re not done! Help us reach our goal of raising $10,000 now! Donate here

Beardvember 2011 Participants:

Scott Merrick

Scott Maggs

Rachel Merrick Maggs

Rick Merrick

Evalyn Merrick

Charles Evans

John Olenick

Lexi Feliciano’s office team, BGC Partners: John Pagan, Carlos Aguilera, Steve Cudzil, Sean Hurley, Rob McCormick, Rick Gerard

Wes Wynn

Arturo Ochoa

Nick Fredrich

Ali Abbas

Jeff Napoli

“Scruff and Buff”: Dr. Eddy Furniss, Bill Richardson, Nate Stark, and Robert Lee

Jerome Davis

Jonathan Lowndes

Gary Surman

Dianna Block

Kate Schellie

Dave Schellie

Ernesto Ramirez

Joe Garfias

Chad Cole

Joseph Isbell

James Price

Mario Mendoza

Joe Matero

Michael Leibowitz

Kirwich Joseph

Grant Edwards

James Thompson

Paola Pardo

Sam Beecher

Joshua Torvi

Nicolas Rico

Thank you!!!

After 28 days, Scott Merrick’s beard has clearly been...

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:21:05 -0500

After 28 days, Scott Merrick’s beard has clearly been inspired by all of the participants, donors, and supporters.

Visit www.beardvember.com to find out how you can still make a difference and support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Celebrate Beardvember with Us!

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 12:02:00 -0500

To show our appreciation for your support, we invite you to join us and celebrate another successful Beardvember!

Join us!

When: Thursday, December 1, 2011, 6:30-8:00 PM

Where: Tavern in the Square, Porter Square, Cambridge, MA (map and directions)

Who: YOU, Beardvember participants from the greater Boston area (and even beyond!), and the inspiration for Beardvember: Rick & Evalyn Merrick!

Come have a drink and appetizers on us!

We look forward to seeing you there,

Scott, Rachel & Scott

P.S. Can’t make it to Boston? Have your own celebration and send us pictures! We’d love to hear how you’re choosing to mark the end of a successful and fun Beardvember

Hairy Fact of the Day

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:11:05 -0500

Along with funding cancer research, the LLS chapter offices around the United States and Canada offer support and education. Here’s a list of some of their programs:

The Patient Financial Aid program offers a limited amount of financial aid for qualified patients. Find your local chapter by calling (800) 955-4572 or by visiting www.LLS.org/chapterfind.

Co-Pay Assistance Program. This program offers assistance for financially eligible patients with certain blood cancer diagnoses to help pay for private or public health insurance premiums and/or co-pay costs for prescription medications. Check www.LLS.org/copay or call (877) 557-2672 to speak to a Co-Pay Assistance Program specialist for more eligibility information.

Clinical Trials. Information Specialists help patients work with their doctors to find out about specific clinical trials. Information Specialists conduct clinical-trial searches for patients, family members and healthcare professionals. You can also use TrialCheck®, an online clinical-trial search service supported by LLS that offers patients and caregivers immediate access to listings of blood cancer clinical trials. Please see www.LLS.org/clinicaltrials.

Free Materials. LLS publishes many free education and support materials for patients and healthcare professionals. PDF files can be read online or downloaded. Free print versions can be ordered. Visit www.LLS.org/resourcecenter.

Telephone/Web Education Programs. LLS provides a number of free, live telephone and web education programs presented by experts for patients, caregivers and healthcare professionals.

Here is one of Beardvember’s newest members, Nicolas Rico,...

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 08:41:05 -0500

Here is one of Beardvember’s newest members, Nicolas Rico, proving that it’s never too late to join the cause, raise awareness, and raise hope for cancer patients and survivors.

Thanks for your support, Nicolas!

Here’s Beardvember co-founder and all around awesome dude...

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 22:20:06 -0500

Here’s Beardvember co-founder and all around awesome dude Scott Maggs, showing off his nearly month-old facial features. Way to rock the beard, Scott!

Say hello to Joshua (and Julia!) Torvi! The Torvi’s have...

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 20:37:32 -0500

Say hello to Joshua (and Julia!) Torvi!

The Torvi’s have been great supporters of Beardvember from the beginning and we thank Joshua, Julia, Peter, and of course Donna for their continued love, support, and generosity throughout.

3 Days, $6,000 to Help Fund a Cure

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 16:32:00 -0500

With only 3 days left in this year’s Beardvember: Curing Cancer One Beard at a Time campaign, we want to take this opportunity to encourage you to donate to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society if you haven’t already. Your tax-deductible donation will make a real difference to all of those touched by blood cancer, including the many (and hairy) participants of Beardvember. If you’ve already donated, pass this message along to your networks and help us reach our goal of raising $10,000!

Click here to donate now! For more information, check out www.beardvember.com.

Finding a cure for cancer is no easy task, but with your donation today, researchers will be able to continue making innovative advances in therapies and hopefully take the next step to finding a cure.

Thank you for your continued support of Beardvember and all its hairy participants!

Don’t forget to check out who’s participating this year in Beardvember: www.beardvember.com/participants

Hairy Fact of the Day

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 10:05:06 -0500

In the US, overweight and obesity contribute to 14%-20% of all cancer-related deaths …observational studies show that obesity increases the risk for cancers of the pancreas, gallbladder, thyroid, ovary, and cervix, and for multiple myeloma, Hodgkin lymphoma, and aggressive prostate cancer. The link between body weight and cancer risk is believed to stem from multiple effects on fat and sugar metabolism, immune function, level of hormones (including insulin and estradiol), and cell growth.

Lessen your risk by following these healthy steps:
Maintain a healthy weight throughout life.
• Balance caloric intake with physical activity.
• Avoid excessive weight gain throughout life cycle.
• Achieve and maintain a healthy weight if currently overweight or obese.

Adopt a physically active lifestyle.
• Adults: Engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity, above usual activities, on 5 or more days of the week; 45 to 60 preferable.
• Children and adolescents: Engage in at least 60 minutes per day of moderate to vigorous physical activity at least 5 days per week.

Consume a healthy diet, with an emphasis on plant sources.
• Choose foods and beverages in amounts that help achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
• Eat 5 or more servings of a variety of vegetables and fruits each day.
• Choose whole grains in preference to processed (refined) grains.
• Limit consumption of processed and red meats.
If you drink alcoholic beverages, limit consumption.
• Drink no more than 1 drink per day for women or 2 per day for men.

From: American Cancer Society. Cancer Prevention & Early Detection Facts & Figures 2011. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2011