A Brief Guide to Movember

There are number of big events and holidays in November. Guy Fawks, Lung Cancer Awareness Month, Remembrance Sunday, and Thanksgiving for our American friends. But today we’re going to be talking about Movember.

“Grow Your Mo”

The Movember Foundation is a charity running year round that makes its push in the month of November, involving the event of growing moustaches throughout. The goal of the foundation is to “change the face of men’s health” by raising awareness on subjects such as:

• Prostate Cancer
• Suicide
• Testicular Cancer
• Mental Health

The Rules

The Movember Story

In 2003, ‘Movember’ started off with two young guys in Australia, joking about bringing the moustache back as a trend. They challenged their friends to do the same, and Movember was born. In 2004, it was taken to the next level and was registered as a foundation, with funds going to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA) at the time. 2006 and the foundation receives official Australian Charity status and has raised £4,253,060 since 2003. It has funded 29’s men’s health projects. Movember received official USA charity status in 2009 and has raised £51,549,833 at this point. The Livestrong Foundation becomes it’s second official partner after PCFA. In 2011 the foundation obtains official charity status in Canada, England, Wales and Scotland and is ranked in the top 100 best NGOs (charities) in the world (there are an estimated 5 million). Finally in 2015, NGO Advisor ranks Movember 55^th in top charities and is named the most innovative not-for-profit organisation in Australia. An incredible £443 million raised since 2003.

“Because men’s health is in crisis. Men are dying too young.”

  And finally, a few tips for men around the world.

• Stay connected to your friends and family
• Keep active
• Talk about the big stuff
• Learn about your family health history
• If you notice something, do something

So there you have it. It tends to look awful, but if you see a large number of moustaches across November, remember it’s for a good cause. To sign up for Movember or donate, hit this link.