People and businesses in Guernsey have raised £17,000 for male cancer charity Male Uprising Guernsey.
The #BeardUp campaign saw men across the Bailiwick stopping shaving for the whole of November, the third time the event has run to fund local prostate cancer diagnosis.
Last year, the initiative funded cutting-edge scanning technology, which means patients can be diagnosed much faster on-island. This year’s money will go towards enhancing and maintaining the scanning technology for the long term.
MUG is thanking all fundraisers for their efforts but has singled out Barry Samson who joined in for the first time last year, before taking things up a level this year by raising £2,419.00.
Among the businesses taking part, Asset Risk Consultants collected £2,000 with more to come. In a twist on the beard-growing theme, their group MD Graham Harrison challenged his colleague Jonny Gamble to shave off his renowned beard. In return, Graham grew one for the month.
Jonny said: “ARC is always keen to support island charity initiatives and are pleased that our challenges have helped to raise awareness of such an important cause. I’ve enjoyed having a break from my beard, but I’ll look forward to having it back again.”
Dan Collins, chairman of MUG, said: “Every year we’re astounded by how many men get behind Beard Up – it’s just fantastic to have so much support across the island for such an important cause. Prostate cancer is the island’s number one cause of cancer death and is the second most common cancer on the island. The money raised will go towards maintaining the vital equipment needed to diagnose prostate cancer.”
You can find out more about MUG here.
