Excuse members of the Walnutport Police Department if it looked as if they were unkempt around the holidays.

It was a deliberate tactic on their part to grow facial hair so it could support cancer education and awareness.

Last month, members of the police department presented the proceeds from their NO SHAVE NOVEMBER campaign to a member of the Northern Lehigh community.

Dylan Bolton and his family were the recipients of the police department’s generosity.

Bolton, who has lived in the Northern Lehigh area his entire life, was diagnosed with cancer a few months ago.

Since then, he’s been getting treatment to beat the disease, and hasn’t been able to work to support his family.

“To continue our yearly goal to raise funds through the NO SHAVE NOVEMBER campaign and to keep it local, this was an easy decision for us to make the Bolton family our recipient this year,” said Walnutport Borough Police Chief Jason Nothstein. “And because of some generous donations, we were able to raise $1,000 in cash, and an additional $135 in gift cards for the family.”

Nothstein said the Walnutport Police Department started “NO SHAVE NOVEMBER” in 2019.