Twenty employees from Southern Electric Power Distribution’s Reading office are off to a freshly shaven start to the month after raising more than £1,800 for their moustache growing efforts during Movember.
The razer-dodging team of project managers and engineers – known as the Itchys and Scratchys – from the company’s Vastern Road base have spent the month of November cultivating their facial hair in the name of men’s health. The team also held a football skills competition, silent auction and cake sale to raise cash for the Movember Foundation, a global charity tackling some of the biggest health issues faced by men.
The team managed to collect just a whisker short of a grand in sponsorship and donations before Southern Electric Power Distribution stepped in to match the funds they raised, bringing the grand total to £1,812.
Team captain Anthony Gordon said: “I’m really pleased that we’ve managed to raise such a large amount for the Movember Foundation. It is a great cause regarding men’s health and more specifically it deals with the difficult issues of testicular and prostate cancers, and men’s mental health – all subjects which men find difficult to talk about. I’d very much like to thank everybody who donated money, and of course to the lads – and their partners! – who put up with growing a moustache for a month. It was great to have 20 people making the effort; even if a couple of them couldn’t differentiate between a beard, a goatee and a moustache!”
The Itchys and Scratchys are now enjoying a tash-free start to December after celebrating their success with a well-earned shave.
Pic (clockwise from left): Yogesh Sonwane, Craig McLean, Chris Boden, Doyle D’Mello, Henry Blyth, Sahib Umer, Yu Qian, Pavel Januska, Anthony Gordon, Nigel Jones, Tim Webb.
Bindi Roopra, Tyrone Cowley, Miles Crossley, Frank Gregson, Duncan Black, Stefanos Spanopoulos, Razib Rashedin, Ben Wollaston and Harsha Makkapati also took part but are not pictured.