Men are preparing to dust off their razors. It’s nearly Movember, the month formerly known as November, when thousands of men around the world will sprout moustaches in the name of men’s health.
Thousands of Canadians commit to sign up at Movember.com to raise awareness and funds for men’s health, particularly prostate and testicular cancer and male mental health. These generous Mo Bros start clean-shaven on the first day of the month and groom their way to a fine moustache. Supported by the women in their lives, Mo Sistas, they together seek out sponsorship for their efforts.
More than 173,000 participants helped raise more than $32.8 million last year. Police forces across the country united under MOPO, The Great Canadian Police Challenge, embracing the moustache more than ever before. With 1,216 Mo Bros and Mo Sistas and 131 teams raising over $252,705 you can be sure to see many moustaches sprouting to help patrol the streets this hairy season.
From the sighting of the first moustache, Movember is all about having fun while doing good. It provides a chance to bring health, humour and camaraderie into the workplace. The Halifax Regional Police (HRP) team embraced the moustache for the third consecutive year in 2013, seeing 29 Mo Bros and Mo Sistas raising more than $5,500.
Behind every great moustache is a great Mo Bro, encouraging his fellow friends to get involved. Pat O’Neil has helped lead the way with the HRP team. “It started with just a couple of us at the station,” he noted. “We heard about it and decided to join in on the fun.”
After signing up and starting a team, O’Neil and the team look forward to their annual shave down event. “Last Movember we got some of the team together at Carlo’s Family Barber Shop in Bedford for an early morning group shave down. You have to start clean shaven so it was a great way to kick off the month.”
“The moustache can act as an icebreaker when dealing with the public,” O’Neil noted. “You find yourself talking about moustaches, which is fun and great to be able to connect with the community on that level.”
More than 2.72 billion conversations were held last year about men’s health and 99 per cent of participants talked to someone about their health, “You definitely find that there is more talk about men’s health during Movember than any other time of the year. It’s great to see that kind of awareness,” said O’Neil.
Movember is a grassroots movement, led in many cases by passionate men such as Greg Carwithen and Michael Labossiere, who led the Burnaby RCMP team, The Burnaby Fuzz, to the MOPO championship by raising more than $23,000.
“Myself and Michael started up the team in 2010 for fun. Looking at how far we’ve come we never imagined that it would get this big, so we’re going to continue to grow both our moustaches and team,” said Carwithen. Like many participants Carwithen’s motivation is personal.
“My dad suffered from prostate cancer, so the cause has always been close to me. Luckily he is now cancer free but many on our team have been affected by the cause, so it’s something we are all very passionate about supporting.”
As the leading global men’s health organization Movember works to get men to become proactive about their health.
“I think it’s great that Movember gets men to open up about their health and help break down barriers. It feels like we are catching up with women’s health movement,” said Carwithen.
While raising awareness for men’s health, many participants also join in on the fun of fundraising. From auctions to office bake sales and fundraising events, there’s plenty to enjoy throughout the month.
{The Rules}
- Once registered at Movember.com each Mo Bro must begin on the 1st with a clean-shaven face.
- Each Mo Bro must grow and groom a moustache for the entire month.
- Don’t fake it. No beards, goatees or fake moustaches.
- Use the power of the moustache to create conversations about men’s health and to raise funds for prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health.
- Each Mo Bro must conduct himself like a true gentleman.
BIO
Sign up at Movember.com today and start a team to join MOPO – The Great Canadian Police Challenge. Contact tyler.small@movember.com for more information.
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