By Alyssa Facemire and Breanna Christian
Starting on November 1st, 2017, the Nicholas County Sheriff’s Department decided that they were going to do #NoShaveForTheBrave to raise money for the Children’s Advocacy Center. Officer Pat Whitney is the Pro-Officer at NCHS. To continue No Shave for The Brave, and because the students loved the cause, OFficer Whitney decided to do a random raffle drawing to raise money for needy families for Christmas. Whoever had the winning ticket got the honor of shaving Whitney’s beard on Friday, December 8th. Raffle tickets sales started on Monday, December 4th, and they cost a dollar each.
Whitney explained, “I grew up really poor, and I’m a dad so I want what is best for my kid. If I have an opportunity to help other families, I definitely will. There are approximately 700 kids in this school. If everyone donated a dollar, that is 700 or more dollars for families this Christmas.”
On December 8th, when Whitney walked into the gym during second breakfast, the kids were sitting in the bleachers ready for the drawing of the raffle ticket. Leafie Keiffer drew the ticket, and the winning number belonged to Devin Hamrick. While playing the song, “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” Devin shaved Whitney’s beard off with a pair of clippers. Students were laughing, and afterwards First Sergeant Harvey shaved most of Whitney’s head.
It was quite a fun experience for the students, and it was for an amazing cause. Whitney has raised $888 so far for the Children’s Advocacy Center.
Photographer of the event, Senior Breanna Christian says, “What Whitney has done is an eye opener for the students because raising money for people who are in need is a great feeling to have.”