The unpredicted global awareness movement
Movember has become a world-wide phenomenon aimed at raising money and awareness for men’s health issues, including cancer and mental health. This non-profit movement was created in 2003 by a group of men in Australia. The men decided to “grow a Mo and save a Bro” by bringing back the popular mustache trend to raise awareness for men’s health. The term “Mo Bro” was then coined by this organization, referring to men who grew a moustache for Movember.
According to the official Movember website, there are five rules to follow in order to participate. Rule one states that, once registered at Movember.com, each Mo Bro must begin Nov. 1 with a freshly-shaven face. The second rule is that each Mo Bro must grow and groom a mustache for the entire month of November. Rule three states that there cannot be beards, goatees or fake mustaches. The fourth rule is that you must use the power of the mustache to create conversation and raise funds for men’s health. The fifth and final rule states that each Mo Bro must conduct himself like a true gentleman.
In the program’s first year, they raised almost $55,000 for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia. In 2006, the program gained official charity status within Australia. In 2014 the program was ranked 72nd in the top 500 non-governmental organizations in the world, and ranked 42nd in 2017. The program now has over 20 participating countries, including Canada, the United States, Australia and Germany.
“In the first couple of years, Movember had huge success but we never envisioned we would create this global movement,” said Movember co-founder Adam Garone in a recent interview.
This year, a group of Mount Allison students raised $500 in support of Movember. They appealed to their audience by spreading their funding page through social media platforms like Instagram and accepting donations through a funding page on the Movember website.
“We decided to start raising funds for Movember because it’s important to raise awareness for the physical and mental health of young men and women,” said Simon Cope, one of the group members. “It’s a really good cause and a great organization.”
In 2017, Movember helped raise $17.2 million in Canada alone. The foundation states this money went toward developments in prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention.
Over the years, Movember has grown into an even bigger movement, supporting all sorts of mental and physical health initiatives. In 2006, the program dug deeper into men’s health issues and created “BeyondBlue,” the national depression and anxiety initiative. From there, the program diversified to include women, or “Mo Sistas.” This new movement, called Move for Movember, encouraged women and men alike to get up and “move” to take control of their health.
You can show your support by donating to www.movember.com and helping the fight against men’s health issues.
