Eric Butler is clean shaven!

“It’s a hockey night in Pittsburgh!” Sound familiar? If it does, then I’m sure you’re aware that the Pens are in the Stanley Cup Playoffs right now and the Beard-a-Thon is well under way. Eric Butler, from VoIP Innovations, is taking part in this challenge. He’s not usually one to shave his beard, so there must be a good reason for him to do it. His reason is that the Beard-a-Thon was created to not only be something fun to do during playoffs, but also to raise money for a great cause: the Mario Lemieux Foundation. Please continue reading for more information about the Lemieux Foundation as well as information and guidelines on participating in the Beard-a-Thon. If you’re an ABG Capital employee reading this, did you know that Jeff and Jason Tapolci are planning to match dollar for dollar the money that Eric raises? It’s true! So shave your beard, sign up or donate for the cause, and join the Pittsburgh Penguins Beard-a-Thon!

The Mario Lemieux Foundation information:

The Mario Lemieux Foundation is an organization dedicated to raising funds for cancer research and patient care, as well as Austin’s Playroom Project, an initiative that creates playrooms for children and families in medical facilities.  The Foundation’s newest project, the Mario Lemieux Center for Blood Cancers, opened at the Hillman Cancer Center at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute in December 2012. It offers comprehensive diagnostic services, individually designed treatment plans, and long-term follow-up services to patients with leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and other blood malignancies.  Key elements of the center include a non-institutional design, advanced information technology integrated into the patient experience and the opportunity for complex treatments to be provided to patients on an out-patient basis.  The Foundation has also opened 26 Austin’s Playrooms in western Pennsylvania in addition to our first military playroom at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.  The Foundation is now raising funds for a second military playroom, scheduled to open in early 2014 at the Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton in southern California.  More information about the Mario Lemieux Foundation and Austin’s Playroom Project is available at their website.

Beard-a-thon Information:

• There is a 10.00 donation all the way up to 250.00 with incriminates of 10.00 or 25.00.
• The donations are 100% tax deductible.
• You have the option to make your donation anonymous or you can make it public that you donated.
• Click here to make donations.

The rules for the beard-a-thon:

• Start with a clean shave on the first day of the playoffs.
• Shaving while your team is in the playoffs is prohibited.
• Trimming is optional and only allowed in between rounds, never during.
• A goatee and a mustache is not a beard. Don’t be fooled by imitations.
• Document beard growth on Beardathon.com and raise money for charity.
• Growers are allowed to shave only after their team is knocked out of the playoffs.

If you have any questions or you would like more information, please visit the Pittsburgh Penguins website.