With family friend Isis Ebright fighting leukemia, Mike Gray is raising funds by shaving his beard during the Super Bowl halftime this Sunday.

A Maricopa man is planning to sacrifice his facial hair to benefit a Maricopa youth recently diagnosed with leukemia.

Mike Gray is planning to shave his beard live on Facebook during Super Bowl 51’s halftime celebration to raise money to benefit the child of a co-worker and family friend.

In August 2016, Chris Ebright of Maricopa, a co-worker and friend of Gray, informed him of the recent leukemia diagnosis of Ebright’s 10-year-old daughter, Isis.

“It’s just amazing that he would help out,” Chris said.

Having a daughter of his own that was diagnosed with type-one diabetes, Gray had some idea of the impact that these life altering conditions have and the financial strain it can place on a family.

“Who better to understand what it’s like, the difficulty of going through these childhood diseases with your kids,” Ebright said.

After learning of Isis’ diagnosis, Gray began thinking up methods to raise money and awareness. He said he had already been catching grief from friends and family about his lengthy facial hair, so when someone mentioned to him crowd-sourcing to raise money he started to develop a plan.

“Then I found out that Lady Gaga was performing at the Super Bowl halftime,” Gray said. “So, I told everyone on Facebook, ‘Wouldn’t you rather see me shave my beard live on Facebook during halftime than watch Lady Gaga?’”

The response from his social media followers was great, and thus the campaign was set into motion.

Gray also recognizing that quite a few people in Maricopa know the family and want to help. So he stepped up and was happy to provide them with an avenue of support for young Isis.

“I think a lot of people have been wanting to reach out to that family and they didn’t quite know how to do it,” Gray said. “So, this just seemed like a perfect opportunity to do that.”

Isis also got some help from her school, Sequoia Pathways. There, students and faculty raised roughly $1,800 to help Isis and the Ebright family.  Chris is particularly grateful for Gray, who also played a significant role in Ebright’s son’s religious education prior to his baptism.

Gray also helped Ebright obtain his current job.

“He’s really been a good friend,” Ebright said. “He always seemed to be there if our family needs help; he’s always trying to help out and do the right thing.”

Leukemia is a form of blood cancer that, on average, affects one in every 1,500 people, according to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. In 2016 one person in the United States was diagnosed with a form of blood cancer every 3 minutes.

To contribute to Isis’ cause, please visit www.gofundme.com/shavetheskunk

And, to watch Mike Gray shave his beard, tune in to his Facebook page during Super Bowl 51’s halftime performance, Sunday, Feb. 5.