Beards for Boobs, an organization started in 2012 by a student at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, has expanded to Mizzou this year.

The Mizzou chapter set a goal to raise $5,000 dollars to donate to breast cancer research in its first active year.

Miami University’s chapter of Beards for Boobs has already raised $14,500 since its founding two years ago. In 2013, the Susan G. Komen Foundation recognized it as one of their top 20 fundraisers in the nation.

Alex Belman, now a junior at Miami University, started the organization with his then-roommate for his grandmother, a breast cancer survivor. Because of the wild success of Beards for Boobs in Ohio, it has now branched out to other universities including MU, Denison University and the University of Delaware.

The mission of Beards for Boobs is based off No-Shave November, another popular event to raise money and awareness for cancer research.

Beards for Boobs raises money by receiving monetary donations from participants’ friends and family who choose to sponsor their beard growth, Belman said.

A member of Belman’s fraternity, Pi Kappa Alpha, told his friends at MU to look into starting a local chapter.

“I jumped on board really fast,” said Alex Bahlinger, the president of the MU chapter.

Bahlinger’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2013, so he said he is familiar with the disease. She is now cancer-free.

He said he was very excited about the opportunity to raise money for breast cancer research that could one day lead to finding a cure for breast cancer.

Sophomore Blake Toth, head of public relations for the chapter, said he would like to make it clear that this event is meant to bring people together.

While men in fraternities run the MU Beards for Boobs organization, Toth said he would like to stress that anyone is welcome to participate in this event, and that students of any gender are encouraged to participate by sponsoring their friends’ beard growth or by purchasing t-shirts.

Beards for Boobs raises money to donate to breast cancer research. However, it also raises awareness, Belman said.

Beards for Boobs works with the Columbia chapter of the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Bahlinger said he is currently working on setting up a Beards for Boobs donation link through the foundation.

Toth said he has set up a Facebook page, “Beards for Boobs University of Missouri, Columbia,” as well as a Twitter account @MizBeards4Boobs. The hope is that these accounts will make people more aware of the organization.

Bahlinger said he hopes the MU chapter of Beards for Boobs will become a top source of fundraising nationally for the Komen Foundation. He said he hopes that he can visit MU in a few years and see that the organization is thriving after the original team has left.

He said he looks to the success of the original chapter at Miami University, whose goal this year is to raise over $30,000.

Belman said he wants to spread the mission of Beards for Boobs on a national level.

He said he was thrilled to see more universities interested in adopting the organization this year.

“We want this organization to be nationwide at some point, but we know that takes time, and it starts by adding one school at a time,” Belman said.