By Layla Kalinen
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
WINDSOR/WINDHAM COUNTY, Vt.— It was Windsor County versus Windham County Protective Services in the ‘Let It Grow’ No Shave November fundraiser to raise money for advocacy and support of victims of physical and sexual abuse.
In the end, the one-month fundraiser drew in massive support from all area police departments and community members, who made donations based on length nails, hair, hair extensions and of course, beards, managing to raise more than $7,000.
In a written interview with the EAGLE TIMES, Julie Gaudette, Director of the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) and Child Advocacy Centers (CACs) of Windsor County, all programs of The Family Place Parent Child Center (TFP) talked about developing the fundraising event.
“At a recent Vermont Children’s Alliance meeting, the SIU/CAC Directors from around the state were joined by leaders from the Granite State Children’s Alliance who told us about an annual, statewide fundraising campaign that has proven extremely successful over the last few years. NH’s campaign is held every October, entitled “Beards for Bucks,” Gaudette said. “Vermont SIU/CAC Directors were inspired to launch a similar campaign in future years.”
Then, Samantha Prince contacted Gaudette about making the ‘No Shave November’ more inclusive by adding the ‘Let It Grow’ piece to the challenge.
“A very eager and outgoing SIU/CAC Director, recently winning the Brattleboro Reformer’s title of ‘Most Remarkable Women,’ Samantha Prince contacted me just days before with her take on a “No Shave November” fundraiser and challenged our unit to a little healthy competition in the names of our centers and for the benefit of our SIU/CAC programs. Anyone who knows me knows I’m always up to a challenge, especially during football season, so why not do it for the cause we have invested much of our professional careers in! About one week before the start of November, my counterpart in Windham (Sam) launched “Let it Grow,” Windham (SafePlace SIU/CAC) vs. Windsor (The Family Place SIU/CAC) and we “were off,” as they say,” Gaudette said.
“Well, Windham was anyway, with a big head start by Dover PD. The Family Place staff really began to rally and began posting on social media, encouraging our own PDs to compete amongst themselves on behalf of The Family Place. We began issuing a leaderboard each week to keep momentum and encourage community members to donate to individual officers, teams and DOGS among the participants. Chester K-9 “Dutch” really began to drum up some business. Some officers are growing/painting their nails or rocking colorful hair extensions, while other police officers are sporting professionally groomed beards,” Gaudette stated.
The Windham County Sheriff’s Department came in on top of the leaderboard with $2,175 in funds.
The Chester Police Department came in first on the Windsor County leaderboard and second the Windham/Windsor leaderboard with $1,770 in raised funds.
“It’s kind of a take on ‘Beard for Buck’ which is a national program which in itself is a spin on the ‘No Shave November,’ but then our own spin between Windsor and Windham Counties is ‘Let It Grow,’ because it allows us to bring more providers into the fold. It’s beards, its nails grown out, maybe get a feather hair extension,” Officer Adam Woodell of the Chester Police Department said.
“It includes more active participants to raise money to support crime survivors and victims,” he stated.
Officer Woodell said this fundraiser is important to him because it is a large part of his career in law enforcement. “I am a member of the Special Investigations Unit, so this cause is directly connected to my work,” he said.
Below are the rest of the Let It Grow November 2022 fundraising statistics:
Wilmington PD (Windham) $960
Woodstock PD (Windsor) $800
Dover PD (Windham) $705
Hartford PD (Windsor) $230
DCF Windham $175
Safe Place (Windham) $125
The Family Place (Windsor) $100
Brattleboro Probation & Parole (Windham) $100
Weathersfield PD (Windsor) $95
Brattleboro PD (Windham) $50
Springfield PD (Windsor) $2
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