By Mailan Nguyen
Circulation Editor
While most students at Mira Costa High School fundraise money for their clubs and organizations by having bake sales, AP environmental science and honors UCLA earth science teacher Karl Kurz did it in a very different way.
At the beginning of April this year Kurz had a charity collection that was taking place in his classroom which required him to shave his beard into a design chosen by his students. He donated the money to the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles and had the new design on for one school day.
“It first started off as ‘no-shave November’ and after November had passed I still didn’t shave and I just thought I would keep it going and grow out a beard which I have never had before in my lifetime,” Kurz said. “When March came around, my wife started bothering me about when I was going to shave so that’s when I came up with the idea.”
Photos: View pictures of Karl Kurz
Kurz says one of the main reasons he started this was because at the age of 18, only a month after graduating high school, he was tested positive for a malignant tumor in his lower abdomen after having his college physical. After surgery and several bouts of chemotherapy he was pronounced cancer-free a year later.
Learn more about what children in cancer treatment go through.
“I remember they would really roll out the red carpet for me when I was at the cancer treatment facility so that’s why we ended up giving back and helping other people since we are a more fortunate community around here.” Kurz said.
There were three beard designs that Kurz’s students could vote for: a question mark, shaving only half of the beard off, and the Batman symbol. The jar with the most donations dictated what he shaved his beard into and all the money would be donated to children who were in cancer treatment.
Click here to donate to the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles.
“We do live in an affluent neighborhood and giving back to the less fortunate can help those in need especially if they are going through difficult times,” Kurz said. “I am sure students would like to see their teachers with a different beard or mustache than their usual self. Plus the money goes to charity, It’s a win win.”
In total, Kurz and his students ended up raising around $150 and the winning design was the Batman symbol, which he wore to school for a day. The money was then donated to the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles where the Los Angeles Clippers matched the donation.
“It was my first year doing this but we just wanted to help out kids that were in cancer treatment at children’s hospitals,” Kurz said. “It was a really fun experience and what makes it better is how it was for a good cause.”
Kurz says next year, he will try to arrange this again in his class and potentially the whole school since it was a success. He hopes other teachers and their students would be willing to participate to raise money for such a good cause.
“I believe and like to say that life is short, so you should go out and do the things you want to do; just don’t worry about what others think of you,” Kurz said. “I live my life by this motto ‘I am here for good time not for a long time.’”
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