To donate to Whiskers for Wishes, visit this website.

LUBBOCK, Texas — When land developer Robert Wood saw a need for new fundraisers for wish kids on the South Plains, he decided to start Whiskers for Wishes, a Make-A-Wish Foundation fundraiser.

“Beards come and go, these dreams are a one time thing for them.” said Wood, who is a developer with West Texas Land Guys.

Wood explained that the basic premise behind Whiskers for Wishes is that if a participating man doesn’t meet the donation goal of $2,000 — he has to shave off his facial hair.

“If you meet your goal, you have [the] option to match donations and not shave,” he said.

With fundraising efforts slowing down for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Wood knew he wanted to help, and all the guys participating jumped at the chance to raise money.

“When they asked me to do it, I definitely wanted to do it,” said developer Trey Strong with West Texas Land Guys.

It’ll be a different look for most, as they’ve been sporting these beards for at least a year.

“I’ve had it exactly a year,” said Eddie McBride, the President and CEO of the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce. “I started it for No Shave November, so this makes sense to enter the competition to see who can raise the most money. Whiskers for Wishes is a lot of fun and helps kids.”

Trey Strong has had his beard for just a few months, but a goatee for much longer than that.

“Had my beard for almost two months now, goatee for 25 years,” he said. “Beard — not so much. But [the] goatee is going to be a big deal.”

Principal owner of AMD Engineering Cory Dulin put the word out he was raising money to keep his beard, and there wasn’t a ton of interest at first. That is, until he raised the stakes.

He said the highest bidder gets to shave his beard, and if someone bids $1,000, they get to shave his head.

“If you’re the highest bidder and say keep the beard, I’ll be pretty happy,” Dulin said. “It may be my wife that’s the highest bidder — we’ll see.”

And even KAMC’s own Bryan Mudd didn’t even think twice about participating.

“I was great with it,” he said. “My wife was horrified, she loves the beard. That really is the reason I’ve kept it this long.”

On October 29, all the participants will meet up at Tune Up — the Manly Salon, a new business in Lubbock. When the owner was approached, he was excited to jump in and participate.

“2020 has been hard for charities and non-profits,” said owner Michael Graham. “When they reached out saying, ‘hey we need a place to come trim beards,’ I was absolutely in. We were just super excited they asked us.”

Graham is even offering up a deal for customers that day.

“On the 29th, all day long, [we’re offering] free beard trims — all you have to do is donate,” he said.
“That’s all we’re asking you to do. Come in, have a free drink. It’s a really good cause.”

To learn more about Tune Up — the Manly Salon, click here.