BROWNSTOWN
Brownstown Central High School students have grown accustomed to a clean-shaven principal.
This month, though, Joe Sheffer is keeping his facial hair as part of a fundraiser for a cause close to many people’s hearts.
He is among nine Brownstown Central Community School Corp. staff members participating in No Shave November to benefit Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health in Indianapolis.
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Each contestant has fundraising cans in their office or classroom, and they also can set up an online page for people to make donations.
"They applied a little pressure to me and said it would be for a good cause," Sheffer said of the student council’s Riley committee asking him to participate.
"The longest I had ever gone is eight days (without shaving), so I said, ‘Sure,’" he said. "The kids are coming up to me, ‘Hey, you’re looking good. No Shave November.’"
The other contestants are Superintendent Tim Taylor, Director of Technology Will Hubbard, high school guidance counselor Derrick Koch and high school staff members Brandon Tormoehlen, Blake Hackman, Dan Schwartz, Mitchell Taylor and Dave Benter.
The first round ran Nov. 6 through 15. The seven participants who collected the most money kept their facial hair and advance to the next round. Tormoehlen and Hubbard were eliminated and could shave if they wanted to.
The second round is this week, and the totals start back at $0. The five teachers who gather the most money will move on to the third and final week.
In the end, awards will be given to the contestant who stays in the competition the longest and the contestant who raises the most money overall. The latter will be presented the Miracle Maker Award.
The fundraiser kicks off the student council’s fundraising for Riley this school year. Junior Abby Stuckwisch said this week, students can get involved by setting up an online donation page using the BCHS Riley TeamRaiser portal.
Then each month, there will be fundraising opportunities for them.
"We’ll do schoolwide events, but then we’ll also have their individual money that comes in for our final total," Stuckwisch said. "We’re hoping to get people signed up throughout the year."
Fundraising will be capped off April 4 with the school’s third Riley Dance Marathon. Each of the last two years, around $2,300 has been raised, and nearly 50 students have participated.
The goal this school year is to raise $4,000 and have 100 students participate.
"I’m hoping that we have to improve or increase our total because we reach it," said Melanie Preston, one of the student council advisers. "I really see that potentially happening this year."
Stuckwisch said the Riley fundraising committee initially considered doing a penny wars fundraiser, but Preston and fellow adviser Paula Workman shared other possibilities from a Riley convention they attended.
"They got the idea from other schools to do No Shave November, and actually, somebody else on my fundraising committee had done it at another school before, so we had the idea," Stuckwisch said. "It kind of just popped out of nowhere, but it works, so we just ran with it."
The committee got the idea buzzing by emailing male staff members. They went from having four contestants the week before it started to nine after they sent a follow-up email and talked to them in person.
"When other teachers realized that the other male contestants were doing it, they were like, ‘I’ve got to do it,’" Stuckwisch said. "I had the nine contestants, which was absolutely amazing to see that we had all of those teachers coming together to support Riley."
Workman and Preston both said they appreciate their male co-workers participating.
"The staff has been fantastic. There is some competitiveness," Workman said.
"I really like to see the male leadership," Preston said. "It’s nice to have the male teachers be willing to step up and support and kind of lead the way to get the students involved and excited about it."
Through the first week, the staff members have raised more than $300. Koch is in the lead with $187.41 and is the only one to raise more than $50.
"It’s a great fundraiser, it’s a good cause and we’re having a lot of fun with it, too," Koch said. "This is one we’ve never done before, so I think that was the appeal for it. Our kids are really getting into it. Last year, they had the Riley Dance Marathon, and they really got into it then, so I think they are really trying to build that program."
Koch said he once grew a beard and later trimmed it down to a goatee. Now, he has let his beard grow out again.
"I have never really gone this long with it. It’s a unique experience, I’ll say that," he said, smiling.
From the staff members to the students, Stuckwisch said she is "absolutely amazed" by everyone’s support.
"Seeing the students that are like, ‘Oh my gosh! I want to see Mr. Benter grow that beard,’ and Mr. Sheffer, I heard him say earlier that he has had kids be like, ‘You’ve got a nice beard going,’ to see the kids get involved with it has been the best part," she said.
The fundraiser is important because it brings awareness to the research and clinical programming Riley offers for kids and their families.
"Everybody in our community has in some way been affected by Riley, whether it has been them, a neighbor, a family member or friend, whatever it may be," Stuckwisch said. "If you just give them that thought, they realize, ‘Man, I’ve been personally affected by this,’ and they are going to be a lot more willing to donate because they know how good of work Riley really does."
Stuckwisch is among those who have been personally affected. She had a cousin born with Edwards syndrome, a genetic disorder caused by a third copy of all or part of chromosome 18.
"Right after she was born, she was flown to Riley," Stuckwisch said. "She lived for about eight days, so she spent eight days at Riley, and they did what they could do to help her."
Other cousins have spent time at Riley for more minor issues. They are Stuckwisch’s motivation to help the hospital.
"When I signed up, Riley was one of my main committees that I wanted to be on, and it was for that reason," she said. "I’m really, really glad I got to be on it because my family has been personally affected by it, and I know that a lot of families have, and I love being able to support them."
While Sheffer said he doesn’t have a personal connection to Riley, he knows many students at the school do, and he’s glad to see everyone show their support.
No matter if he’s the winner at the end of this month or not, Sheffer said he will have at least one way to reflect on his participation.
"The volleyball state picture, I’ve got it on there," he said of sporting facial hair in a photo after the volleyball team won the Class 3A state title Nov. 9.
"All of the kids were like, ‘You’re always going to remember this,’" he said. "The evidence is there, so I can always look back and remember that, ‘Hey, that was No Shave November.’"
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Each week this month, standings for the No Shave November fundraiser will be posted online at facebook.com/bravesbchs.
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