Mustaches for Kids marks its 10th anniversary

She is in 10th grade at Oceanside High School, and cannot grow a mustache, but is raising money for the Pediatric Cancer Care Center at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital through Mustaches for Kids.

Molly Eisenberg became interested in the cause four years ago. Saying, “Cancer is a scary thing,” Molly began by asking family and friends to donate. So far this year she has raised $1,300.

“When I found Mustaches for Kids I thought it was a great thing,” she said. I want to be a doctor and help kids and everything.”

Eisenberg is the youngest member of the organization.She is an all honors and AP student and a cheerleader at school. 

Mustaches for Kids is a volunteer-run, national organization that supports children with cancer by having volunteers grow mustaches in order to generate donations for children’s charities. Friends Vinny Leis, Billy Kupferman, James Bogdan and Justin Fitzmartin launched the Long Beach chapter 10 years ago, and the group’s month-long event began with a “shave day” earlier this month, where participants registered for the fundraiser with cleanly shaven faces.

More than 60 people participated this year, and organizers say that the mustaches are meant to serve as a conversation starter and encourage people to donate to through the group’s website, www.m4kli.com. Participants are given buttons that read “Ask me about my mustache” and a donation website is set up for them when they register.

Memorial Sloan Kettering created the Mustaches for Kids Fund earlier this year to benefit various patient support programs in its Department of Pediatrics that are in need of additional funding. Specifically, the fund will help build the Teen and Young Adult Program, which addresses the emotional needs of patients between the ages of 16 and 28.

“This is our 10th year and we’re going to break more than half a million dollars donated to the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center,” said Leis, a teacher at Baldwin High School. “This year, Memorial Sloan Kettering created an online fund in our name — it gives money directly to Mustaches for Kids through Sloan Kettering’s website.”

The group recently visited children at the hospital and, this year, Rockville Centre Lanes set up a miniature bowling alley for kids at the center.

Donations in Eisenberg’s name can be made at http://bit.ly/2esFuGZ.

“The hospital and staff allow us to come in, we play with kids and do fun activities,” Leis said. “We want to make sure that these kids can be just be kids and have fun.”