Beards for Brothers 2022

Police Officers and first responders from Annville Township, Columbia Borough, East Cocalico Township, East Hempfield Township, Elizabethtown Borough, Ephrata, Lititz Borough, Lancaster City, Lancaster County Parks and Recreation, Manheim Borough, Manheim Township, Manor Township, Millersville University, Mount Joy Borough, New Holland Borough, Northwest Regional, Pequea Township, Strasburg Borough, West Earl Township, West Hempfield Township, West Lampeter Township, and Quarryville Borough Police Departments will be participating in a No-Shave November campaign to help raise awareness for Cancer. This is the eighth year that Chiefs of Police have waived their departments’ facial hair policies and will allow officers to grow beards through November. We are proud to be joined by local Volunteer Firefighters, EMS and Dispatchers from Lancaster County, PA.

Each year Officers select a first responder, an immediate family member of a first responder, or an organization from the community who is currently battling Cancer or provides care to those battling cancer. This year the Beards for Brothers campaign will raise money for Yvette Pugliese, wife of retired West Hempfield Township Chief of Police Mark Pugliese, and Retired Officer Bryan Ressler, Northwest Regional Police Department.

Yvette Pugliese, the wife of retired West Hempfield Township Police Chief Mark G. Pugliese I, was diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in mid-August. Within three weeks, Yvette had undergone four surgical procedures to remove cancerous tumors/tissue and to perform biopsies to determine how far the cancer had spread. Yvette will undergo four to five weeks of radiation therapy up to five times each week. Yvette, Mark, and her family remain positive about the outcome of her treatments and are very grateful to their strong support network and the law enforcement family across the county. As a police spouse for 35 years, Yvette has been a constant source of support, navigated the ups and downs of law enforcement beside her husband, and has faithfully served the community.

Officer Bryan J. Ressler retired from the Northwest Lancaster County Regional Police Department. He served the department from 1990 until 2015. Prior to Northwest Regional, he served three years with the Marietta Borough Police Department and eleven years with the York County Prison. This year Bryan was diagnosed with Stage 2 Prostrate Cancer. He will begin twenty-five radiation treatments starting at the end of October, then receive radiation seed implants into the prostate. With these treatments and God's grace, the cancer will be eradicated.

We hope to help ease some of the burden associated with Yvette and Bryan’s battle with cancer.

We will also donate a percentage of the money raised to A Week Away (aweekaway.org). AWA is a non-profit organization that “coordinates and funds respite weeks for families who are battling a life-threatening illness, with the goal of providing them the hope they need to continue their fight”.

As first responders, we swore to serve and protect our communities. We chose to raise money to support those community members fighting the battle against cancer and show them first responders stand beside them.

Please consider donating to our campaign!