Rory Ritrievi, president and CEO of Mid Penn Bank (at left), and Dr. Jay Raman, interim chair of the Department of Urology at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, pose with an oversized check representing the amount raised in their 2023 “No Shave November” effort.
Participants grow out facial hair to raise awareness and funds for prostate and urologic health
Penn State Health and Mid Penn Bank raised a record $341,000 through their eighth consecutive “No Shave November” effort benefiting care and research at Penn State Cancer Institute.
December 15, 2023
The campaign is spearheaded by Dr. Jay Raman, interim chair of the Department of Urology at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, and Rory Ritrievi, president and CEO of Mid Penn Bank, who have squared off each November since 2016 to see who can grow the best beards and raise the most money to fight prostate and urological cancer. Participants from both organizations ditched their razors and grew out their facial hair with the goal of raising cancer awareness and starting conversations about prostate health.
“Support from community partners such as Mid Penn Bank helps to fuel our efforts to fight cancer,” Raman said. “The money raised through ‘No Shave November’ will provide our team with additional resources to pursue new research projects, enhance diagnostic tools and treatments, and improve prostate and urologic health for patients.”
This year’s fundraising total exceeds last year’s by $100,000, continuing the growth trend each year since 2016.
“The campaign has grown exponentially, and we couldn’t be more proud of its contribution to the groundbreaking research being performed by my dear friend, Dr. Raman, and his incredible team of physicians,” Ritrievi said. “Our community partners made a large impact on our ‘No Shave November’ total this year, and we are truly grateful for their support and generosity.”
In August, Mid Penn Bank committed to continue supporting the campaign and to raising a seven-year total of $1.1 million by 2026.
Money raised supports the Department of Urology’s involvement in the Pennsylvania Urologic Regional Collaborative (PURC), a quality-improvement initiative that connects urology practices in a physician-led, data-sharing and improvement collaborative aimed at advancing the quality of diagnosis and care for patients with prostate cancer. PURC’s goal is to improve the care of people in central Pennsylvania who are suspected of having or have been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Additionally, the funds support the research of physician-scientists in the Department of Urology that focuses on cancer care in the aging population, addresses cancer disparities in minority populations and increases genetic testing of cancer patients to better determine risk and personalize therapies.
The money also helps provide free prostate cancer screenings for the community, supports mission-based work by the department to underserved areas regionally and nationally, and makes available educational conferences for patients and health care professionals covering elements of cancer prevention and screening.
Gifts from community partners like Mid Penn Bank advance the University’s historic land-grant mission to serve and lead. Through philanthropy, alumni and friends are helping students to join the Penn State family and prepare for lifelong success; driving research, outreach and economic development that grow our shared strength and readiness for the future; and increasing the University’s impact for families, patients, and communities across the Commonwealth and around the world. Learn more by visiting raise.psu.edu.