This November, juniors Ben Yoder and Matt Booden are taking part in No Shave November for the second year in a row.

No Shave November also known as Movember is a charity that supports prostate cancer, mental health, and testicular cancer. To take part in this movement, one can run or walk 60 miles, host a fundraiser to collect money, and of course not shave.

Booden and Yoder have again made the decision to ditch the razors, but this year they have a team of members rallying behind them. Last year the two alone raised $180 but this year, they have a new plan.

“This being our second time, and having a lot more people partaking we set a goal of $500,” said Yoder.

This year the boys came to November with a different approach. After last year, the movement picked up some traction around the school, so this year they have a team known as the New Trier Beard Team.

The money the team will raise will go to funding many projects that support men’s health. According to the Movember site, this charity has funded over 1,250 projects since 2003.

Booden decided to join this movement after watching his brother and now he follows in his footsteps.

“My older brother whose done it for the past 5 years, he did it in college a lot and he would grow out this huge mustache every year,” said Booden

As for Yoder, he followed in Matt’s footsteps. He was attached to this cause because of the simplicity. 

“I hadn’t heard about Movember until Booden had told me about it last year, and I found the idea appealing just because it’s so easy to do. It takes zero effort to not shave, and raising money for men’s health awareness is just an added bonus,” said Yoder.

It hasn’t been easy for the boys to create a large following. They reached out to students and staff members but many didn’t want to grow facial hair.

“The biggest challenge is getting people on board. A lot of people I talked to said ‘I can’t grow anything’, ‘I don’t wanna look weird’, and a lot of male staff members said, ‘My wife is gonna kill me’ or ‘I have parent teacher conferences coming up’,” said Booden.

Not only has it been difficult to grow their team but also spreading awareness hasn’t been easy. The No Shave movement has often been overlooked. But Yoder and Booden see it as their duty to spread awareness for the charity and men’s health.

“Not a lot of other people are aware of this fundraiser, so that’s why Booden and I are trying to use the New Trier News to spread awareness,” said Yoder.

“The point is that it is gonna look weird, I don’t really like the way that this looks typically, but it’s supposed to look weird, it’s supposed to look quirky, and it’s supposed to promote a discussion,” said Booden.