The Latest Update:

Much to Mark's wife's dismay, you made your decision.

It was clear by the end of October that the more fashionably-minded among Mark's friends and family would not get their own way, and since your decision was cast, Mark has dutifully continued to grow his beard without tweaking or interference of a pair of scissors.

December is now upon us with Christmas rapidly approaching, therefore the moment has arrived: it is our pleasure to reveal to you CMAT'S OWN SANTA CLAUS!

We would like to personally thank Ms Alison Spataro and Ms Louise Maloney, at Nene Park Academy for welcoming Mark into the salon on the morning of the 14th of December (it is fair to say he has never set foot in such a place in his life...)

Mark's beard, as you can see for yourself in the photo, is now fully white. His current task; to keep up the colour for the rest of the week, in time to see all the CMAT students go home for the holidays and to wish them a Merry Christmas.

Please keep the generous donations going and help us hit our target of £5000!

Mark Woods, CEO of CMAT, has been growing his own feral Lockdown beard since the 20th March 2020. No shaving, no trimming, no fancy manscaping- just the real deal as it comes.

Initially, Mark swore he would not touch his beard until all students were back in school full time. However, seeing what a natural beauty the said beard has blossomed into, he thought he would give you the choice as to what he does next..

We set up two campaigns-

1). Shave (Ban the Beard): Mark will give his beard a good trim or remove it completely (to the relief of his family!) and at least return to looking as near respectable as he has ever managed.

2). Santa: Mark pledges to turn into CMAT's (or other associated organisations) very own Santa Claus: no shaving until school breaks up for Christmas, a full white dye-job and some Covid safe hohohoing.

The deadline for making your decision was the 30th of September. Some terrified staff, parents and friends voiced their concerns about Mark's lack of grooming and pushed the Ban the Beard campaign,. Alas, unfortunately for some, the idea of Santa Claus seemed to be the frontrunner from the start, raising over £1000 for Sue Ryder.

Although the initial conditions were that unless the £5000 target was hit, Mark would decide, Mark and his co-organisers have since decided that he will keep the beard anyway!

Mark and the team would like to thank you for your generous donations in support of such a superb cause as Sue Ruder, a charity with a special place in the hearts of all those at CMAT and their associates' hearts.

Please continue with your generous donations! All funds raised will support the outstanding work of Sue Ryder, Thorpe Hall Hospice in memory of our dear friend Martin Bacon who benefitted from their care and always enjoyed a silly plan.

To view the Ban the Beard campaign, click the link below:

Ban the Beard

To view the campaign to provide a Santa Claus for CMAT, click the link below:

Santa Claus