Our Story
In 2013, we lost a good friend of ours, Brian Smith, to suicide which we all believe was related to his service in Afghanistan. Brian was a happy person, who loved to joke around and laugh. He had a warm smile and a warmer heart that touched so many people in the Waterford area. After Brian returned from Afghanistan he still joked around and made us all smile, but you could tell that he had a hard time dealing with his return. We had Brian for 10 years after the end of his service, and those 10 years were a gift he gave to us and everyone else in his life.
“Winter of the Beard” is an attempt to give a gift back to Brian. The group invites people to grow beards from the beginning of November through February to honor our veterans’ sacrifice and raise money for veterans services. What started as a group of around twenty quickly turned into a social media group with over 200 participants from all over the country. Members are asked to participate in social media scavenger hunt like challenges every week where they post pictures of their beard’s progress in various settings. At the end of the challenge, the group holds a party where members may shave away the winter’s growth if they wish and reflect on the winter.
The group is run by a smaller Upper Bearded Council that has functions as a board of directors. Winter of the Beard is working to incorporate into a Michigan Non-Profit Corporation and has received 501(c)(3) status. The hope is that the non-profit will be able to raise enough money to provide a grant in honor of Brian Smith that would provide veterans support services in Waterford and the surrounding area. This year the group will donate the first $1,000 raised to a local veteran’s cause that will be announced during the course of the challenge. If more money is raised, it will be used to establish an endowment with the hope that the endowment will eventually grow large enough that its earnings will be able to fund the annual grant in Brian’s honor.