WWAY’s Matt Bennett joins Mustaches for Kids Wilmington to help reach $1M goal
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A local tradition that’s grown in more ways than one is returning next week. Mustaches for Kids Wilmington is kicking off its annual “growing season” to raise money for children’s charities across southeastern North Carolina.
The group’s founder, Ryan McInnis, says the concept is simple: shave clean at the start of November, grow a mustache for a month, and collect pledges to benefit local causes.
“We shave our faces clean at the beginning of November, grow a standard-issue mustache corner to corner for a month, and collect pledges that we give to local child-benefiting charities,” McInnis said.
This year’s Shave Day is set for 7:00 p.m. Tuesday at The Venue at Wilmington Brewing Company, where participants will kick off the season together. Each week, growers meet at different local venues to compare progress and raise awareness for the cause.
WWAY’s Matt Bennett sits with M4K ILM founding member Ryan McInnis to talk about this year’s fundraiser.
(Photo: Alex Padilla/WWAY)
“There’s a referee that will come and look at your mustache and make sure it’s not hanging over the sides or connecting through,” McInnis joked. “It’s a sacrifice—that’s the idea.”
McInnis, who first brought Mustaches for Kids to Wilmington 22 years ago, says the effort has raised nearly $1 million for local organizations.
“We’re about $10,000 short, so this is the year,” he said. “Our theme is A Million Reasons to Grow, and we’ll cross that threshold no problem.”
WWAY’s Matt Bennett, who interviewed McInnis on Good Morning Carolina Thursday, will be participating in this year’s fundraiser along with other WWAY employees.
Donations can be made on behalf of the WWAY Team here.
Anyone else interested in participating can sign up here. McInnis says it only takes a few minutes to register and start fundraising.
“You basically say, ‘Look at this, pay up,’” he said with a laugh. “But all the money stays right here in the Wilmington area.”
