CHOCOWINITY — Students and faculty of local school participated in a charitable fundraiser this month, contributing almost $300 to the American Cancer Society while having a little bit of fun.

Southside High School in Chocowinity participated in the No-Shave November initiative to raise awareness for cancer, with 25 students and several members of the school’s faculty to refrain from shaving and getting haircuts the entire month of November, said Dale Cole, principal at SHS. According to the No-Shave November website, the goal is to grow awareness by embracing hair, which many cancer patients lose, and letting it grow wild and free. Participants donate the money they would usually spend on shaving and grooming for a month to educate others about cancer prevention, save lives and aid those fighting the battle, the website said.

Cole said he heard someone talking about it and asked his wife if she knew what it was about and she told him it had to do with raising awareness for cancer. He Googled the subject and learned by growing one’s hair out during the month of November, it raises awareness for cancer, Cole said.

“I thought it would be kind of cool to get students involved, and we use it as a way to have a charitable fundraiser where we can have a little fun,” Cole said. “So I made an announcement and told students about it.”

Cole told students about having fun with growing out some hair for the month of November, and if they wanted to sign up they had to pledge a donation of however much money they would save by not getting a haircut or shaving the entire month, he said.

“If they flunked out, they had to pay double,” Cole said.

Some students told Cole they normally got haircuts from their mothers and didn’t have much money so he allowed them to participate and said to pledge as much as they could, Cole said. Cole pledged $20 — $15 for the cost of a haircut and $5 for grooming expenses — so if he ended up shaving or getting a haircut, he would have to pledge $40, he said.

Cole said 25 students and three or four staff members ended up participating, raising $289 dollars. The school cut a check for that amount and sent it to the American Cancer Society.

According to Cole, the school does at least one charitable fundraiser each month to benefit different groups. In October, the SHS Student Athletic Club raised $828 for the American Cancer Society. In November, in addition to NSN, the Key Club and the SHS Student Athletic Club participated in a canned-food drive, raising around 345 pounds of food, and the Student Government Association did Pennies for Patients for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society, raising $1,214. In December, the school will participate in Toys for Tots, as well as a nursing home gift collection, and this spring, the school will contributed to the Ronald McDonald House, Cole said. So far this year, the school has raised almost $2,300.

“At the high school level, I think as adults, we don’t give enough of our time to charities,” Cole said. “This teaches students to be good citizens. We do Character Education programs, and doing these simple things is a great way for kids to see how little it takes to make a difference. (No-Shave November) didn’t cost them anything except a little aggravation. It makes a difference and it help our students see how important it is do to something like this with a purpose.”