Columbia (WLTX) - After one Richland Northeast High senior lost his mother to cancer, he asked his principal to give up his mustache to raise money in her memory.
"I grew it when I was a senior in high school - that would have been 1975 - and that's the last time I've been without one," explains Ralph Schmidt, principal at RNE.
But if senior Caleb Brown has his way, the 'stache will be missing soon. "I thought to myself, 'How can I raise a large sum of money while using the school and having everybody in the school and community be a part of it?' I looked upon Mr. Schmidt and I saw his brilliant mustache and I thought, 'What if I could get him to part ways with his facial hair?" Caleb laughs.
Their goal is $15,000, with all the money raised going to Camp Kemo for kids with cancer. It's a fun way to reach the goal, but it came from a heartbreaking place. "After my mom passed away, that was kind of a turning point for me and I knew I wanted to do something beneficial to the community," says Caleb.
Schmidt says, "Caleb's an incredible young man and Caleb unfortunately lost his mother this summer to cancer and I watched Caleb as he went through that and he just touched my heart."
That convinced Schmidt to say yes when Caleb asked him to shave his mustache - just don't remind Schmidt that the time may be coming soon. "I try not to think about it," he says, "It's one of those things that if that time comes and we hit the magic number, I will be happy to shave it because I know it is making a difference in the lives of children."
The fundraiser will continue throughout the school year. In just a couple of weeks of collecting donations, the kids already have a little over $700. They're taking donations at all RNE football games, or just contact the school if you want to help out.
9/18/2009 8:03:12 PM
