Photo submitted to Times Observer The photo that started it all — John Papalia getting his beautiful lashes done by friend Cassie Colvin.

You’re going to want to see this.

And it’s going to be worth your attention, and your donation.

At 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 14, at Warren’s annual outdoor show — renamed the Darin Freeborough Memorial Outdoors Show — at the Warren Mall, manly men from the area will be putting themselves up for bid.

And the lucky winners will get to put makeup on them.

For whatever that is worth may be worth a lot.

The makeup, donated by Bon-Ton in the mall, is part of Makeup For A Cause, a fundraiser created by the WCCBI’s John Papalia to benefit A Safe Place, Warren’s domestic violence shelter.

Papalia said the idea came during a visit with friends, Cassie and Scott Colvin.

“Hey,” Cassie told Papalia, “you have long lashes.”

The observation was quickly followed up with a request:

“Can I put mascara on them?”

The photo was just a funny pic to upload to Facebook, Papalia said. But Bob Patchen, the Warren Times Observer’s publisher, saw it and asked Papalia, “‘What would it take to make this happen again,'” Papalia said.

A fundraiser was the natural conclusion at which Papalia arrived.

“It was just a funny conversation,” said Papalia, but when the idea for charity came up, “A Safe Place was the first place that popped into our heads.”

And the fellas on the roster for being made up, said Papalia, “all agreed on it being a great cause.”

It will work like this, according to Papalia: attendees of the Outdoor Show will have the opportunity to bid on which man they’d like to put in makeup. The highest bidder will get the honor, but spectators will be asked to provide a donation for the entertainment. Each guy volunteering to be made up is also collecting pledge money.

“If we could get each guy to get $200 in pledges,” said Papalia, with the amount of men already slated to participate, there’s the potential to go into the day with $1,000 already raised for A Safe Place.

So far, the Warren Times Observer’s own Jon Sitler, managing editor, Andy Close, sports editor, and Brian Ferry, reporter, are on board, as are Papalia himself and his friend Scott Colvin of Allegheny Coupling.

For information on making pledges, or to get on the makeup roster (making you a great sport for a great cause), call the Warren County Chamber of Business and Industry (WCCBI) at (814) 723-3050 or email Papalia at jpapalia@wccbi.org.

The Times Observer will also be opening itself up to accept pledges as well, said Patchen, so keep an eye out on the newspaper’s website (timesobserver.com).