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Long Beach's Mustaches for Kids raising money for children with cancer

Organization will hold its popular 'Stache Bash at the Long Beach Hotel Nov. 3

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Mustaches for Kids kicked off its annual fundraiser on Sept. 29 for children with cancer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and the month-long initiative culminates with the ’Stache Bash at the Long Beach Hotel on Nov. 3 from 6 to 10 p.m.

Mustaches for Kids is a volunteer-run, national organization that supports children with cancer by having volunteers grow mustaches in order to generate donations.

Friends and Long Beach residents Vinny Leis, Billy Kupferman, James Bogdan and Justin Fitzmartin launched the Long Beach chapter 11 years ago, and the group has raised more than $500,000 since it launched what has become one of the most popular fundraisers in town.


About 65 men and women are participating this year, and the Long Island chapter’s month-long event began with a “shave day,” where participants registered for the event with cleanly shaven faces.

“We are off to a great start and are really excited about this season,” Kupferman said. “We crossed the half-a-million-dollars-raised mark last year and are on our way to that million. Every dollar raised goes right to the kids. Sloan Kettering is an amazing place. We want to do as much as we can to help the folks there do their thing in helping to get these kids better.”

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. Each year, participants also visit children at the hospital and spend the day with the kids on the pediatric floor.

The group’s next “check point” will be held at the Knights of Columbus on Oct. 28. Tickets for the ’Stache Bash are $75 and the event includes raffles, live music, food and other activities.

Visit www.m4kli.com for more information or to donate.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly listed the date of the ‘Stache Bash as Nov. 4. The event takes place Nov. 3. We regret the error.