Movember: How Does it Work?
Giving the mo' a go? Here's everything you need to know...
If you're a living, breathing human on planet Earth, there's a good chance that you've heard about Movember. But, not everyone knows exactly why they torture their partners with fuzzy moustaches for a month each year. Here's exactly how Movember works.
How Movember Started
Like many good ideas, Movember was thought up at the pub. Two mates, Travis Garone and Luke Slattery were having a quiet beer in Melbourne, when they wondered how many guys they could get to take up the challenge of bringing the moustache back. This was in 2003, and they managed to get 30 men on board.
Inspired by the power of the mo' and the conversations they start, the next year, the friends decided to push the effort further and raise money for charity. They got 430 people on board, and raised a huge $40,851 for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia. It was the biggest check the charity had ever received.
Fast forward to 2020 (yes, we shudder at the memory too), and the team announced Movember funding for 34 separate projects to support the mental health and wellbeing of boys and men in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 6.5 million people have taken part in Movember worldwide, with over 1250 men's health projects supported since 2003.
Why is Movember so popular?
Aside from the free pass to grow a furry friend on our faces? Movember resonates with people around the globe because men's health is often underfunded and underdiscussed. Movember treats men's health as the crisis it is. Here are some stats about the scale of the problem:
- On average, men die 5 years earlier than women, often for preventable reasons.
- 10.8 million men globally have a prostate cancer diagnosis.
- Throughout the world, one man dies every minute from suicide.
- 75% of all suicides are males.
Movember brings our attention to these issues every year, when they may otherwise go unmentioned. Typically, men don't like to talk about difficult health issues, especially in our stoic British society. Part of the allure of Movember is that we're given that much-needed nudge to air these issues and support men in the most important way. Plus, all our mates are doing it, too.
Movember: How to Raise Money
Raising money for Movember is as easy as not shaving. The most popular way to raise funds is to let your upper lip get fuzzy, or downright overgrown for the whole month of November. While this is still the most popular choice, if you can't grow a mo' (or the partner won't let you), you can participate in other fundraising activities of your choice.
Once you've signed up online, Movember will email you fundraising information and details of how to collect money.
In the sign up process, you can choose to go it alone or sign up as a group. We highly recommend getting all your mates involved. Start a Whatsapp chat, send a picture of your fuzzy face and spark some banter with your best blokes - we all need some uplifting social connection this time of year, anyway.
Donating to Movember
Can't quite commit to the fundraising effort but still want to do your part? You can donate to the cause by clicking here. Every donation will be put to good use.
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