CHICAGO — Several Whitney Young teachers and coaches hope growing beards can lead to a face-lift of sorts for the prestigious high school's outdoor athletic field.
As part of the "Novembeard" fundraiser, more than 20 Whitney Young teachers are forgoing shaving to raise money for a field just north of the school at 211 S. Laflin St. The field has little grass, is covered in dirt and an upgrade is "long overdue," proponents said.
Spero Mandakas, a co-chairman of the fundraiser and a physical education teacher at the school, said he hoped the project would raise $20,000. It would be the first of several fundraisers for the outdoor field, which is used by several Whitney Young varsity teams and gym classes.
The long-term plan is to replace the dilapidated grass with FieldTurf similar to North Park University's athletic facility, Mandakas said. That project could cost several hundred thousand dollars, the O'Hare resident said.
"If we can raise $20,000 through this — coaches and teachers growing beards — then hopefully people will see this money is attainable," said Mandakas, Whitney Young's varsity girls soccer coach and junior varsity boys soccer coach.
Female athletes and staff members are also helping raise money for the cause.
All funds from "Novembeard" will be donated to Friends of Whitney Young, which recently raised about $500,000 to replace the lockers in the school's locker rooms, Mandakas said.
This is the second year of "Novembeard." In 2014, it raised about $4,000 that was donated to The Sanel Project, which provides "herbariums to children with long term hospital care," according to its website.
Whitney Young students voted on last year's winning beards, and will do the same this year, Mandakas said.
The athletic field just north of Whitney Young High School. [Spero Mandakas]
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