Colony Pest Management kicks off No Shave November

Some members of the Colony Pest Management team in Brooklyn, N.Y., will be showing off some scruff during the next few weeks.

The Colony Pest Management team at the beginning of No Shave November. PHOTO: COLONY PEST MANAGEMENT

Every year for the past five years, Colony Pest Management employees participate in No Shave November. The rules are simple: put down the razor for 30 days.

Affectionately called “Noshember” at the company, the initiative aims to boost awareness of cancer. As Colony team members let their hair grow, they call attention to the hair loss many cancers patients suffer. Some employees donate the money they typically spend on shaving and grooming to cancer research.

This year, though, the company is doing things differently. Colony Pest Management formed the Colony Cares philanthropical fund and is hosting a GoFundMe page for Eamon Maguire, a close friend of Colony Pest Management owner Joe Sheehan.

Maguire, 36, was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive form of rectal cancer that has spread to his liver. He has been battling the illness for almost a year.

All the money raised by Colony this year will be donated directly to Maguire and his family, and Colony Cares will be matching up to $2,000.

“Being the second time cancer struck close to home made me think about what are we, what am I, really doing,” says Sheehan. “Donating to research and raising awareness is important, and we will continue doing so. However, watching Eamon battle this and all the time vowing to raise money for other cancer patients is inspiring.”

Going forward, the Colony Cares fund will be donated to a cancer patient and his or her family.