It’s getting hairy at NASH this month, as Facial Hair February continues into its 17th year. The four-week fundraiser has been a long-standing tradition at NASH in support of Highmark’s The Caring Place.
This year, NASH English teacher Mrs. Omasits has stepped into the fundraiser’s leading role, following founder and longtime organizer Mr. Mooney, who now teaches at Marshall Middle School.
“The Caring Place offers free support to grieving children and their families, and it’s all free for them,” Omasits explained. “There are so many students in the building who have used the Caring Place before.”
From her perspective as a teacher, Omasits has witnessed the value of Facial Hair February firsthand.
“Last year, my students had a friend who didn’t go to NA anymore, but she died right around this time of year,” she said. “So talking about the Caring Place and raising money was a way to offer support to them without even realizing that we were doing it.”
NASH senior John Voit has been on board with FHF since his junior year.
“I shaved half of my beard last year,” Voit said, “and I looked like a fool, but it was all worth it.”
The month-long initiative incentivizes students and staff to donate by offering a raffle during the last week of February. And Omasits has assembled quite an array of gifts for this year’s giveaway. Prizes include week-long parking passes, tickets to Senior Banquet, Prom and 2024 football home games, gift cards to Starbucks, Chipotle and Chick-fil-A gift cards, and Steelers and Pens gear.
Omasits encourages all students — not only those who chose to drop the razor for a month — to get involved. A one-dollar donation to her in Room 265 earns one raffle ticket for the end-of-month prize drawing.
But for Voit, the fundraiser is about much more than the chance of winning a prize.
“When I was in the ninth grade, my father passed away, and it left me feeling hollow and empty,” he said. “On that fateful day when I heard the news, my world felt as though it was shattered and collapsed beneath me. Last year, I knew I would not be able to donate much on my own, so when I realized I could just not shave and encourage others to donate, I saw that as a great opportunity to help bring awareness for a very important message.”
Voit said that he is planning to shave stripes into his beard this year, a sign that he remains in full support of a cause that impacted his life and the lives of many other kids.
“We all suffer loss and grief, and kids experience grief even more than those who are older,” he said. “A kid who seems happy may very well be experiencing some great tragedy that we are unaware of. Let us be there for them.”
Isha is a senior and this is her second year on The Uproar. She enjoys reading for fun not betterment, netflix, music and time with her friends. Her favourite shows are New Girl and All American and her favourite artists are Bryson Tiller and the Arctic Monkeys. She's excited for the year and cannot wait to see what kinds of articles she will publish.
