Beards for Brothers 2023

Police Officers and first responders from 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 tenth year that Chiefs of Police have waived their departments’ facial hair policies and will be allowing officers to grow beards through the month of 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 Erika Draper, wife of West Hempfield Township Police Sergeant Ryan Draper.

Erika was diagnosed with Stage 2A Luminal A breast cancer in March. Within weeks she began 3 months of chemotherapy treatment and in August had surgery to remove cancerous tissue/lymph nodes. A biopsy showed not all cancerous tissue was removed and she underwent a second surgery in September to remove more tissue. She is currently undergoing 30 sessions of radiation therapy. Erika, Ryan and their family have remained positive and are thankful for the strong support received by the local law enforcement community. As a police spouse, Erika has been a constant source of support and has navigated the ups and downs of law enforcement beside her husband and has served the community faithfully.

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

We will also be donating 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 that are fighting the battle against cancer and show them first responders stand beside them.

Please consider donating to our campaign!