Mo' Movember money
Murray tops in Canada among firefighters
Shawn Giilck
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, December 4, 2014
INUVIK
There's a good reason why anyone selling razors might have seen some lean sales this last month.
Inuvik firefighters Kelvin Jones, Kolin Murray and Dak de Kerckhove show off their luxuriant facial foliage Nov. 28. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo
|
A number of teams across town, including male teachers at East Three School and 14 members of the Inuvik Fire Department, are looking a little rough around the edges these days as the Movember campaign winds down.
Kolin Murray, who has informally been heading a drive by the firefighters, is currently sitting in the top spot in Canada among firefighters collecting funds for the Movember campaign in the Great Canadian Fire Challenge as of Nov. 28.
That challenge is a fundraising contest among participating fire departments across Canada, Murray said.
The department members had raised $6,140 on Nov. 28, with more expected. Murray had raised $2,025 and counting.
The department itself is in fifth place overall, after a brief dalliance in the top slot earlier in the campaign.
"It's just a great way to challenge each other and network. Some of the big fire departments such as in Calgary have caught up and passed us now."
It goes without saying the department is a little more shaggy than it was a month ago, with even Fire Chief Jim Sawkins shaving off his fabled 'Hulk Hogan' 'stache to join in the Movember fun of growing it back. For a while, he was sporting quite the baby-face look, and suffered more than a few quips as a result.
"Yeah, I shaved it off to start fresh," Sawkins said with a grin.
The moustaches in the department on Nov. 28 ran the gamut from the impressive to the not-so-impressive, with some being a little more follicly challenged than others, but it was all for a good cause.
As you might expect, there was more than a bit of jocularity and jibes flying back and forth over how the facial hair was coming in.
One firefighter with a suspiciously filled-in 'stache was inspected briefly for signs that super glue had been used to flesh it out. That's a difficult determination to make, though.
The growth on Murray's upper lip was decidedly in the middle of the pack, but he's proud of the results nonetheless.
His wife, Weronika, though, is looking forward to the December shaveoff, he added wryly.
He said last year he participated in the well-known campaign individually, but decided to involve the department this year to raise more money.
"Mental health is a big factor for me, and that was our main goal was to raise more funds."
Most people think the Movember Campaign is focused only on prostate cancer, but funds go to funding treatment for other types of cancer, including testicular, as well as mental health treatment and programs.
Like most people, Murray said he's been affected by cancer through friends and family and wanted nothing more than to do something about it. Exposure to cancer-causing chemicals is also one of the hazards firefighters face as an occupation challenge.
"Across the country firefighters have already raised more than $200,000," he said. "We're accepting donations until Dec. 9, so our total should go up."
