Getting Hairy for Charity: Maovember Finishes Up Its Successful Run

The mustaches were flaunted, the money was counted, and now Maovember coordinator Jim Boyce is ready to announce the results of his series of goodwill charity events.

RMB 140,000 (or 1.4 million mao, as Boyce cheekily likes to point out) was raised, an amount that high enough to make a fellow lip hair stand on end in surprise and admiration. RMB 110,000 of that money came from events like a "win your weight in Belgian beer at Beer Mania" and "whack some balls at the Ping Pong Social at Migas," as well as the launch of the GoodWorks-assisted Yunnan Coffee Imperial Stout at Jing-A, and many more. The remainder of the funds came from Maovember pin sales.

The money will be used to not only help furnish reading rooms at underfunded schools via The Library Project (the first being made at a school near Baoding, a few hours outside Beijing); the funds will also be used to help nonprofit GoodWorks train late-teen orphans for jobs in the coffee trade. Anyone looking for more specifics can visit the Maovember website for a transparent rundown that will be regularly updated as the money is donated.   

Another milestone was the first ever coordination of Maovember events outside of Beijing and Shanghai, in locales like Kunming, Taipei, Tianjin, and Wuhu. The widest ranging Maovember event was also held during this year's run: The Super Beers for Books events, also called MaovemBEER, which featured nine brewers at 14 venues in five cities.

"Maovember is always a long emotional roller coaster ride," said Boyce. "There are all kinds of logistical, volunteer, and other crises but it's worth it because the events are so fun and you meet people truly behind the cause. Some of the most committed people this year were  Thierry de Dobbeleer of Beer Mania, Peter Spiranac of the Australian Embassy and man-about-town Keith Robinson, all of whom turned up at many of the events. It was also good to see the Beijinger involved, whether that meant the Pizza Cup, the team it created for the Q Mex charity quiz or GM Mike Wester joining the liar's dice tournament."

Boyce gave special praise to Beer Mania, which made the most money out of all the Maovember venues with RMB 26,000. He also wrote up a fun blog post about how that cash was raised-- thanks to the bar's owner, Thierry de Dobbeleer, and his Maovember "Shave or No Shave" Campaign." That effort consisted of two donation jars being put on Beer Mania's counter, one marked "Shave" and one "No Shave." From there, de Dobbeleer would either keep or buzz off his considerable stubble, based on whichever jar ended up brimming with the most bills by month's end.

Thierry de Dobbeleer was equally enthused about the whole stubble saga, saying: "Last year, with the "Shave or No Shave" Campaign, Beer Mania raised RMB 2,500. This time... we raised RMB 26,000, ten times more! Okay, I lost my beard... But, I'm really happy because it's for a great cause, enough to build a full library with The Library Project. Kudos to Jim Boyce for putting Maovember in place. (It's) the best charity effort in China, combining fun and good social deeds."

Boyce also reiterated his gratitude for participants like Keith Robinson, who "went to a lot of the events and spent a lot of money."

Robinson said he had plenty of fun throughout the Maovember run, but the biggest highlight was at Beer Mania where he won his weight in beer and then auctioned it off, and donated that cash to Maovember.

"It is an enjoyable way to give back to Beijing and China as our adopted home," Robinson said of his motivation to partake. "Good people are working hard to organize these events and it is just a good way to meet people be social and to help some people."

On that note, we can't wait for Maovember to roll around next year, so if nothing else we have a thinly-veiled excuse to drink and grow out our ratty facial hair.

Boyce said he would like to thank the following sponsors:

Venue and events sponsors included Arrow Factory Brewing, Beer Mania, Beijing International Ice Hockey (BIIH), The Beijinger Pizza Cup, Boxing Cat Brewery, Cafe de la Poste, Caravan, Cheers Wine, Dirty Duck Pub, Eton Beijing, Faith Bar, Fubar, Great Leap Brewing, Hockey Bar, Jing-A Taproom, Irish Volunteer, Migas, Paddy O’Shea’s, Panda Brew, Pop-Up Beijing, Q Bar, Q Mex, Slow Boat Brewery, Taihu Landmark Tasting Room, The Turtle, Tiki Bungalow, WE Brewery, and XL Bar & Restaurant.

Maovember Pin sponsors included Beer Mania, BIIH, Cafe de la Poste, Caravan, Cheers, Irish Volunteer, Home Plate Barbecue, Paddy O’Shea’s, Punjabi, and Sherpa’s.

Product and service sponsors included 1421 Wines, Australian Natural, Baozza, Cheers, Grape Wall of China, Grissette, Jameson, Kentucky Ale, La Cava, Le Sommelier International, Myth Monkey, Omer Beer, Pasion, Ponty, Seina, Shangri-la Beer, Sherpa’s, The Beijinger, The Foxes Rock, and The Green Room.  

Last, but certainly not least, those making substantial donations included Ailish, Dustin Merrett, Hannah, James Shepheard, Jen Ambrose, Jona, Keith Robinson, Kelvin Tam, Martin Winchell, Mike Peters, Neil Holt, Patrick Cranley, Peter Spiranac, and Steven Schwankert. 

The members of the Maovember 2016 steering committee were Alex Jennings, Edouard Simon, Jim Boyce, Paul Rochon, Steven Schwankert, and Zach Lewison.

More stories by this author here.