Snowboard team grows mustaches for cancer research

November is shaping up to be a hairy month for members of West Virginia University's snowboard team.

Club members are growing mustaches for the Movember charity project, which aims to raise money for prostate and testicular cancer research.

"Movember," a monthlong awareness and fundraising project for men's issues, asks males around the world to grow mustaches throughout the month.

"It's a great way to get people that don't usually do community service to help out," said Corey Snyder, Movember event coordinator and member of the WVU snowboard team.

Each individual then collects pledged donations and becomes "a walking billboard for the cause, as his new look opens the door for him to talk about cancers affecting men – making the mustache a symbol, much like the pink ribbon is for breast cancer," according to Movember's Web site.

The charity is well known throughout the snowboarding community, Snyder said.

After hearing about the charity last year, the team decided to raise money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation and prostate cancer research this year.

"We signed up on the Web site, established a team and just started recruiting," said Nick Morris, a graduate student in mechanical engineering. "We figured if we're going to do it, we should do it right."

The team is also selling chocolate mustaches for a $1 donation to the Movember fund at the Engineering and Mineral Sciences Campus throughout November.

"(The chocolate mustaches) have gotten us the most money so far," Snyder said.

The team will also be at the Mountainlair this Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to recruit people and sell chocolate.

The team will host a party on Nov. 19 at De Lazy Lizard on High Street.

There will be a $5 cover charge, and all proceeds will benefit Movember.

Prizes will be awarded for the most money earned and the best mustache, Snyder said.

Potential donors do not have to sponsor a particular mustache to help out.

"If someone doesn't want to sponsor my mustache, that's their business, but they can still make a general donation on the Web site," Snyder said.

Women can also get involved by supporting a mustache or helping to recruit donors, Morris said.

Interested donors can donate at www.movember.com or by following the Movember link at www.wvu.edu/~snowboardteam/.