2014 Beard-a-thon raises over $300,000 for charity

EAST AURORA, N.Y. – With the 2014 NHL Stanley Cup® Playoffs officially in the books after the Los Angeles Kings' victory in the Final over the New York Rangers, beard-growing season in the NHL is over. An annual effort that sees fans, celebrities, and NHL players grow their beards in a charitable drive to raise funds for various North American charities, this year's Beard-A-Thon®, proudly presented by Just For Men, raised over $300,000 for NHL team charities. This brings the program's total collection close to $3 million since launching in 2009.

Across the nation, over 4,000 hockey fans took part in this year's Beard-A-Thon. Participants in Beard-A-Thon vowed to grow and maintain a playoff beard during the duration of their team's run in the NHL Stanley Cup® Playoffs. Beard growers invited family, friends, and business associates to pledge their playoff beards. Fans who were unwilling, or unable, to grow a playoff beard could also pledge their favorite NHL players.

With numerous teams participating in the effort, fans of the Boston Bruins led all NHL teams by raising over $90,000 for the Martin W. Richard Charitable Foundation and the Boston Bruins Foundation. Our top beard grower, a Bruins fan, Jason Beckett, raised over $14,000 for the foundations by himself. Over on the West coast, the fans of the Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings raised $58,000 for the Kings Care Foundation. The fans of the New York Rangers raised over $42,000 for the Garden of Dreams Foundation.

"It has been another great year for Beard-A-Thon," said John Cimperman, the principal at Cenergy, a Stealth Media House Company, the marketing firm behind Beard-A-Thon. "Hockey fans have continued to demonstrate that their passion and loyalty is second to none, and have come together to raise money for an important cause. We look forward to seeing the fans and their beards next spring."

For more information on Beard-A-Thon®, visit www.beardathon.com.