FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Patriots’
Devin McCourty, Matthew Slater, Gov. Maura Healey and 800+ Granite Teammates Participate in Granite’s 10th
Annual ‘Saving by Shaving’ Event to Benefit Boston Children’s Hospital
Granite’s ‘Saving by
Shaving’ Event Has Raised More than $50 Million for Health Care in the Past Decade
QUINCY,
Mass. – March 9, 2023 – Granite Telecommunications, a $1.8
billion provider of communications and technology solutions to multilocation
businesses and government agencies, announced that more than 800 people participated in the 10th
annual “Saving by Shaving” event, raising more than $4 million for Boston Children’s Hospital and
bringing the total raised in the history of the event to more than $50 million.
Saving by
Shaving proceeds support Boston Children’s mission of unmatched care and world-class science and
commitment to healing children, helping families and fueling lifesaving
research for every child, putting kids from around the world on the path to a healthier,
more promising future.
Additionally,
Saving by Shaving raised $100,000 each for two charities chosen by New England Patriots’ football players. These
include Boston Uncornered, a nonprofit selected by safety Devin
McCourty, and Edmiston Center, a nonprofit selected by wide receiver
Matthew Slater.
At
today’s event Granite CEO Rob Hale, along with Granite teammates, families and
friends, were joined by community leaders, celebrities and athletes, including Massachusetts
Governor Maura Healey; Quincy Mayor Thomas Koch; Kevin Churchwell, MD,
President/CEO of Boston Children’s Hospital; Patriots’ stars Joe Andruzzi, Matt Light, Devin McCourty and Matthew Slater; and
radio personality Greg Hill.
“What
started out as a dare 10 years ago has grown into one of the highlights of
every year,” said Hale. “I am proud of the Granite team and the greater
community and how we work together to support the amazing work done by Boston
Children’s Hospital. Boston Children’s Hospital helps families from near and
far with the answers they seek, and we are honored to play a part in supporting
that mission.”
“For 10 years, the Granite team has helped us
seek answers, improve care, and simply do more for the children and families we
serve,” said Boston Children’s Hospital President and CEO Kevin B. Churchwell,
MD. “When you shave your head or your beard for
Saving by Shaving, you’re doing more than raising money — you’re standing with
our patients in their time of need.”
In the past 10 years, more than 10,000 people
have participated in the “Saving by Shaving” event by shaving their heads and
donating their hair, raising more than $50 million for charitable organizations.
For each person who shaved their head or
donated at least 8 inches of their hair, Granite donated $2,500, which was
matched dollar for dollar by the Hale family, for a total of $5,000 per head to
pediatric research and treatments for The Every
Child Fund at Boston
Children’s Hospital.
Additionally, all locks of hair will be
donated to Hair We Share, which creates custom wigs free of charge
for those affected by medical hair loss.
Plus, a donation of $100 was made for every
"chemo cap" (a hat
for cancer patients who’ve lost hair due to chemotherapy) created by the Granite Fiber Art's
team. This year the team handcrafted 250 hats for children and adults, for a
running total of 3,000.
The “Saving by Shaving” event also was
supported by Granite’s business customers and local businesses, such as:
·
Dunkin
Donuts, which provided coffee and breakfast for the volunteers and
barbers/stylists and Lamberts, which provided lunch.
·
Professional
barbers and stylists, who donated their time and expertise.
The “Saving by Shaving” event was closed
to the general public, but Granite encourages like-minded individuals to
support funding for pediatric cancer research by donating to Boston Children’s
Hospital. Click here to donate.
Granite’s annual “Saving by Shaving”
fundraiser began 10 years ago when
CEO Rob Hale jokingly dared a member of his team to shave his ZZ Top-style
beard in exchange for a $1,000 donation to a cancer hospital. Over the next two
weeks, hundreds more Granite teammates reached out to Hale asking for the same
opportunity to raise funds and shave their heads or beards in solidarity with
those undergoing chemotherapy. From there, 428 teammates turned out at
Granite’s first “Saving by Shaving” event and raised more than $2.2
million to benefit cancer research.
Supporters
Barbers
& Stylists
In
addition, the “Saving by Shaving” event is supported by Granite’s business
customers and local businesses, including professional barbers and stylists who
donated their time and expertise.
Photos & Videos
Photos
and videos are available to press on request. Contact Khali Henderson at
BuzzTheory (for Granite), 480.848.6726, khenderson@buzztheory.com or Aimee
McMillin at BuzzTheory (for Granite), 901.857.5811, amcmillin@buzztheory.com
ABOUT
GRANITE
Granite
delivers advanced communications and technology solutions to businesses and
government agencies throughout the United States and Canada. The $1.8 billion
company serves more than two-thirds of Fortune 100 companies and has 1.75
million voice and data lines under management, supporting more than 650,000
locations. Founded in 2002, Granite has grown to be one of the largest
competitive telecommunications carriers in the U.S. by simplifying sourcing and
management of voice, data and cellular service with a single point of contact
and consolidated invoicing for all locations nationwide. Today, Granite
supports customers with a wide range of services, including access, UCaaS,
mobile voice and data, and MSP solutions for SD-WAN, monitoring and network
management. Granite employs more than 2,250 people at its headquarters in
Quincy, Massachusetts and 11 regional offices nationwide. For more information,
visit www.granitenet.com.
ABOUT HAIR WE SHARE
Hair We Share was formed in 2014 and is supported by
over 40 years of experience in custom design for wigs and hair pieces. We are
extremely proud to say that Hair We Share is rapidly making a mark in the
medical related hair loss communities, improving lives and restoring the
confidence of men, women and children throughout the USA. For more information,
visit https://hairweshare.org/
Media Contacts:
Jeremy
Robison
PR
Manager
Granite
617.845.4027
Lauren
Grenier Cheney
Marketing
Director
Granite
781.884.5290
Khali
Henderson
BuzzTheory (for Granite)
480.999.5297
Aimee
McMillin
BuzzTheory (for Granite)
901.857.5811