Elijah Johns|Staff Writer
No-Shave November is a movement started in 2003 in Australia to raise awareness for various men’s health issues such as: prostate and testicular cancer. The non-profit organization that started the movement was Movember. The group was started when a group of men got together and each donated $10 to grow a mustache for the whole month of November. The two men, Travis Garone and Luke Slattery, took the idea from how much money their friend’s mother was making from breast cancer awareness.
Fast forward to 2016 and the movement has grown to 21 countries and they have raised $710 million since 2003. 5,232,625 people have registered as “Mo Bros and Sistas”, not taking into account the number of people that show solidarity without donating. If you ask the common person growing out their beard or mustache what no-shave November is about, more times than not, they wouldn’t know. Movember is a big movement that has helped millions of men overcome the struggles of cancer. It is important that people who participate realize the impact that they are having, it’s more than just a mustache.
I have had family members affected by prostate cancer, so this runs close to home. I grow my mustache to show my support and donate what I can. Movember claims that by 2030, they will reduce the number of men dying prematurely by 25%. As much as other cancer research is important, prostate cancer is the number one cause of premature death in males, according to pfc.org. Show your solidarity and grow a mustache for November.
If you want to set up your own fundraiser, click here. On this website you can set up your own fund for someone in need. On their website they advocate for donating the money you would usually spend on shaving products and donate it to the cause of your choice, whether it be prostate cancer research or something along those lines.
This year 34840 men will die from prostate and testicular cancer combined. While this number isn’t as high as breast cancer, it is still a high enough number to receive more treatment and more funding. The movement is huge, but there can never be enough people donating and participating in a good cause. To donate or become a Mo Bro and Mo Sista click here.
