Beards For Babies II-Time To Skip The Shaver

Spectrum Health Gerber Memorial is kicking off its second annual Beards for Babies fundraiser to benefit the Family Birth Center. From Left: Azlan Ibrahim, communications manager; Dave Rosel, manager supply chain; Clark Patton, systems engineer; and Josh Gustafson, director of community health.

Gerber Memorial invites community men to skip shavers, support babies

FREMONT – November means a lot of things in Newaygo County. Hunting season. Football. Thanksgiving.
And for Spectrum Health Gerber Memorial, beards.
Gerber Memorial is asking men to grow out their beards for a good cause in November, to support babies by raising funds that will benefit Gerber Memorial’s Family Birth Center.

During the month of November, the “Beards for Babies” fundraiser encourages men to grow a beard, a mustache or both, and ask friends and family to donate to their efforts as part of a friendly competition. On Nov. 28, the participants will display their facial hair during a “beard-off” showdown at Lakes 23 Restaurant and Pub.
Participants of the “Beards for Babies” event can sign up and use their custom page to raise funds, by sharing the link and their efforts with friends, family, coworkers and others.

“We can’t thank our community enough for opening their hearts and their wallets to support local families, and we wanted to give men in Newaygo County another excuse to ditch the shavers and help babies and moms at our Family Birth Center get a warm welcome,” said Loretta Towne, Gerber Memorial Foundation specialist and organizer of the event. “Every year, Gerber Memorial welcomes more than 500 young lives into the world, and our staff does a tremendous job making sure mother and child are safe and comfortable. This fun fundraiser is a way to support both the families we serve and our staff.”
This year, the fundraiser hopes to bring in $10,000 to purchase equipment that can provide comfort for moms and babies, as well as improve safety and training for the Family Birth Center staff.

A panel of judges will pick the best facial hair based on the following categories:

• Best overall beard
• Most unique beard
• Best effort beard
• Best mustache
• Top individual fundraiser

This is the second year the event is being held. At the inaugural event in 2017, nearly two dozen participants from Gerber Memorial and throughout the community helped raise more than $6,400. The funds helped two Gerber Memorial nurses, Jessica Kretoski, RN, and Amber Blamer, RN, become certified lactation consultants, who play a major role in increasing the number of new moms who breastfeed exclusively and are providing the best nutrition to their infants.

Participants will use Gerber Memorial’s fundraising website to raise $50 or more to earn entry into the “beard-off” contest. Those interested in raising money for “Beards for babies” as either a participant or a donor can go to: give.spectrumhealth.org/beardsforbabies.
Participants can create their pages by clicking on the “start fundraising” bar and following the instructions. Donors can give by clicking on the “support a friend” bar.
For more information or questions, call 231-924-3681.