CASSOPOLIS — While things may have been a bit hairy inside the halls of the Cass County Sheriff’s Office last month, the generosity on display inside the Cassopolis department Friday was pretty clean cut.

Sheriff Richard Behnke handed over a $1,353 check to Kimberly Kramer, executive director of Domestic and Sexual Abuse Services, that morning in the lobby of the law enforcement complex, located on M-62 outside Cassopolis. The donation was comprised of the proceeds from the sheriff’s office’s recent “No Shave November” event, during which officers were allowed to holster their razors and turn their shaving cream over to the evidence room for the month after paying a $50 “permit fee.”

Eighteen sheriff’s office employees participated last month, and selected DASAS to donate the balance of their permit fees to, as well as other contributions made on behalf of the cause, Behnke said. Though one participant dropped out before the end of the month, as he could not stand the itching, everyone else let their beards, mustaches and sideburns grow out — though by Nov. 30 they were happy to shave again, much to the chagrin of their wives who came to enjoy their husbands’ new lumberjack-like appearance, the sheriff joked.

“The fact I’m most proud of is that someone from every division participated,” Behnke said. “We had people from road patrol, corrections, animal control, emergency management, and someone with dispatch join in.”

Even the sheriff got in on the action.

“It was the first time in 30 years I’ve gone that long without shaving,” Behnke said.

As his beard came in completely white, his officers quickly began comparing his appearance to Jolly Old Saint Nick, he said. In fact, for the annual county Christmas door decorating contest, his employees printed out a photo of their bearded boss and placed a Santa hat on top of it outside the entrance of his office, which the sheriff showed to Kramer during her visit to the department Friday.

The DASAS director said that the sheriff’s office’s donation will be used to help fund some of the services the nonprofit provides to local women and families impacted by domestic and sexual violence, including its shelter in Three Rivers as well as its counseling services it provides through its office in Dowagiac. The donation will also help with the agency’s current year-end campaign, which will help fund DASAS’ educational programs for high school students, Kramer said.

It was the first time that the sheriff’s office participated in the event, which has become a growing trend among law enforcement agencies across the country, including in Dowagiac, which wrapped up its second annual No Shave contest this year. Based off the number of participants and the morale boost it gave the officers, Behnke said he considers his office’s No Shave event a success.

“I’m sure we will do this again in the future,” he said.