Brent Schweitzer from The Hair Exchange in downtown Milford takes his scissors to junior Andrew Pierce’s hair Sept. 29 in the Milford High School gym. Pierce agreed to get a Mullet for a Mission after students raised more than $600 for hurricane relief.
One Milford High junior is rocking a mullet—for a good reason.
Andrew Pierce had the front of his hair cut Sept. 29 in front of the entire Milford Public Schools student body to fulfill his promise on Mullet for a Mission.
Pierce and classmate Matt Kenney came up with the idea to help people affected by Hurricane Harvey.
“My hair was getting pretty long and I needed a haircut, and a lot of my friends said I’d look cool with a mullet,” Pierce said. “Then came Hurricane Harvey, then Irma, so I drew inspiration from my friends’ suggestions and formulated Mullet for a Mission.”
They got some assistance from Principal Brandon Mowinkel.
“They came to my office and had this idea to raise funds for hurricane relief in Houston,” Mowinkel said. “They had it outlined and had typed it up. They said, ‘We want to call it Mullet for a Mission.’ I said, ‘Awesome. Let’s run with it.’”
They set a goal and challenged MPS students to raise $300 through class coin wars.
“At first, my goal was going to be $50 with the hope of just a few friends donating,” Pierce said. “Then Mr. Mo heard about my idea and helped me turn it into a huge schoolwide project that lasted a whole week.”
The fundraiser for Harvey was put on hold when Hurricane Irma hit Florida.
“We didn’t think it would be appropriate to have it while another hurricane was hitting landfall,” Mowinkel said.
Classmate Dylan Cookus made promotional flyers, and the students talked up the cause to get others excited about donating.
Students surpassed the goal and raised $656—something Pierce said he wasn’t sure would happen at the beginning.
“The first day, nobody gave any money at all, and I thought this whole thing was going to crumble,” he said.
On the second day, close to $100 rolled in, and by day three, the $300 goal had been met.
But students didn’t stop giving.
“On the fourth and final day, I had $656, which totally caught me by surprise,” Pierce said. “My classmates were very generous in their givings.”
Other school organizations joined in the relief effort, too. The Family, Career and Community Leaders of America chapter held a bake sale, and the Key Club sold lemonade during lunch to raise money, Mowinkel said.
Pierce said part of the money raised will be sent to a food bank in Houston, and he is still deciding where to send the rest.
He said seeing Americans unite after a disaster gave him a sense of national pride.
“What made me feel like I needed to help out with the relief efforts was seeing all the wonderful folks from all over the nation going to Houston after Harvey and doing whatever they could to help out,” he said.
As for his new look, Pierce said he is enjoying it, and it fits well with his love for 80s rock bands.
“The mullet is pretty great,” he said. “I get weird looks in public, but it’s totally worth it.”
