Local officers participate in No-Shave November

STEUBENVILLE -- One year ago, members of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 1 were able to raise more than $4,000 to help a woman who was fighting cancer, just by not shaving for a month.

This year they're hoping to do even better.

This is No-Shave November, a nationwide campaign to spur conversation and raise cancer awareness among men. Simply put, participants forego shaving for the month. It's a big deal for the law enforcement community, since departments typically have strict grooming policies in place.

It's the second year City Police have participated.

"(Patrolman) Lucas Powell, an FOP member, is kind of the brainstorm for all this," said Sgt. Ryan Lulla, vice president of the FOP. "The fundraiser itself would run through the FOP, but the officers would need permission due to a departmental policy regarding facial hair. (Lucas) sat down with Chief (Ken) Anderson and worked out the details and brought the idea to everyone else."

It was an easy sell, they said, pointing out Anderson "has been very, very supportive" of their effort to raise money to help those fighting cancer. Powell said their motivation to join the No-Shave November movement last year was a colleague whose life was directly affected by breast cancer, and they want to build on that momentum.

"We don't become police officers to lock up bad guys," he adds. "We do it because we want to help people."

Powell said cancer "sees no prejudice."

"It doesn't care what color you are, how old you are, whether you're a man or a woman -- it affects everyone and is usually devastating to anyone it impacts," he said. "My uncle recently fought prostate cancer. My grandfather fought bladder cancer. One of my lifelong friends fought prostate cancer. A very close friend's mother is currently in the fight for her life with both lung and throat cancer. It made me want to try to help out in any way that I can and I'm glad to do it."

Participating officers can leave their razors in the cupboard for the month in exchange for at least a $100 donation, but Lulla said even those who don't want to let their facial hair grow make contributions.

To add to the kitty, this year they're selling black-and-pink Cops for Cancer T-shirts, "with 100 percent of the proceeds going to families dealing with the effects of cancer," Lulla said.

He said last year's recipient "has two younger kids. And I think, last time I checked, she's doing pretty well. She's well into remission, I believe."

"I'm glad we were able to do it," he said. "And as long as we're able to, we plan to keep doing it."

Lulla said between 15 and 20 officers have signed up for No-Shave November, "but then others usually just give without participating."

He said FOP Lodge 1 has already made a donation to a cancer patient, "but she wants her privacy, which we respect." They're planning to make a second donation this year, but those details will be finalized in a couple of weeks, once the proceeds from the Cops for Cancer shirt sale are in.

Enza Anderson, a physician's assistant at the Teramana Cancer Center at Trinity Medical Center West, said the donations are a big help to those who are battling cancer.

"We have several patients in our cancer center who have been struggling financially, more so now than before," she said. "We have assistance available from different organizations, but this was on an individual basis and it was very, very generous and greatly appreciated."

The center is very busy, she said, "(and) we have been able to provide cancer care locally, so patients do not need to go to larger cities."

On the flip side, "We are continuing to grow because of our aging population and closures of other hospitals, and it's a reality that we have in this valley," she said. "But we're glad to help and be here for patients when we can."

And trying to help those in need "is what the FOP does," Capt. Ettor Canestraro, secretary-treasurer of the FOP, said. "Throughout the year we do all sorts of things to give back to the community -- it's what we do. It's why we do what we do."