Beards for Tears: A Hair Raising Event

Usually, two guys shaving off their beards on a Sunday afternoon isn’t exactly newsworthy. But in the case of bearded men Jon Sontag (far right) and Greg Miller (far left), it was exactly that! The Mercury News (and The Wave Magazine, of course!) showed up to cover the event because the two have been growing beards for charity for the past seven months. Jon (who happens to be The Wave Mag’s esteemed graphic designer) and Greg paired up with charitable organization Water Wells for Africa and started what they dubbed their “Beards for Tears” campaign. Over the course of seven months, Jon and Greg refrained from shaving, and asked people to sponsor their beard-growing efforts. Today, Sunday April 5, was the official end of the beard-a-thon, and the ceremonial shaving of the guys’ impressive facial hair growth. Water Wells for Africa representative Travis was on had to collect the $3,000 Jon and Greg raised through their hirsute fundraising pursuit. The money will help build a well for a village in Africa, offering access to much-needed clean drinking water. Keep an eye out for the guys on the front page of The Merc’s The Valley section on Monday April 6, and if you’d like to find out more about the campaign or donate money to this worthy cause, go to www.beardsfortears.com or www.waterwellsforafrica.org.