Reslife: Movemeber Blog

It’s that time of year again where we all start to see facial hair sprouting up all over the place! We all have that mate who aspires to grow a beard the likes of which Gimli would be jealous, but after a few weeks it becomes clear that the wispy, thin pale 'tache that he’s grown really isn’t working.

You might ask why someone would put themselves and their peers through this uncomfortable experience. Well now that Movember is here it’s the perfect time to not only see what you can grow but also support a great cause at the same time. 

Did you know…

• On average, 1 man dies by suicide, every minute of every day. That’s 1440 men across the world every day.
• 3 out of 4 suicides in the UK are by men.
• 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer within their lifetime.
• Globally more than 1.3 million men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year.
• Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in young men in the UK
• On average men are dying 6 years earlier than women are, and often from preventable causes.
  

The numbers are quite sobering… but there is hope!

Movember is a charity that raises awareness and money to support men's health, specifically around suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer.

Movember started in 2003 with two mates having a quiet beer and joking about bringing the moustache back. The two friends decided to talk their mates into growing a Mo. Inspired by a friend’s mother who was fundraising for breast cancer, they decided to make the campaign about men’s health and prostate cancer. They designed the rules of Movember (which are still in place today) and agreed to charge ten dollars to grow a Mo. They found 30 guys willing to take up the challenge.

Since that time the movement has grown and developed to now not only raise awareness and support for prostate cancer but also testicular cancer and suicide awareness. 

Movember is based on several core values that are;

• Fun - Havin’ fun doin’ good,
• Respect- We are caring and inclusive,
• Humble – We never forget why we’re here,
• Team Movemeber – We strive to enable every person to be their best,
• Remarkable experience – We’re dedicated to creating remarkable experiences for our people and our community

Last year Mo-bros and Mo sisters raised £12.8 million for Movemeber in the UK alone! As a global organisation around 70% of all money raised goes straight towards mens health programs across the world with only 30% being retained to cover ongoing costs for the organisation.

There are several ways that you can support Movember this year,

Grow - If you can why not grow your facial hair out to raise awareness of the cause and raise money at the same time by getting sponsored by your friends.

Move – You can commit to running or walking 60kms over the month, each km representing the 60 mens lives that are sadly lost each hour to suicide

Host – Rally a crew and do something fun, host a Mo-ment. Raise awareness and break down the stigma of talking about mens health by hosting an online event.

Mo your own way – Do an epic challenge, a physical feat, cycling, running, working out etc, do what you can.

You may well have a friend or loved one who has or is suffering from one of these health issues. In a year that’s already been so tough why not give back and offer hope to someone by raising awareness of the Movember movement. Help others  by fund-raising so that more programmes geared towards men can be accessed by those who need them.

To find out more about Movember click this link: https://uk.movember.com/?home

To find out how you can donate to Movember click this link: https://uk.movember.com/get-involved/donate

To see what programmes Movember has helped fund click here: https://uk.movember.com/report-cards/