It is November 30th and we are closing out 30 days of mustaches in the name of men's health! You may have seen our posts throughout the month as our team participated in our second Movember. This year, we raised $625* for the Movember Foundation to tackle prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention. Now, as we wrap up the month, each team member shared their motivation for participating and thoughts on the experience.

*A few final donations were made, and as of 12/3, the team raised $805!

Jeff B says:

A year ago, a good friend of mine was diagnosed with testicular cancer. He's been cancer free for awhile now, thankfully. In November of 2017, I participated in Movember to raise funds and awareness for men's health; a small contribution to help toward men with problems like my friend had. I thoroughly enjoyed growing my mustache so much that I kept it through the new year. This November, I took part in Movember again because participating and raising funds just once isn't enough. It's now the end of the month, and I'm proud to say I'm going to keep my ‘stache and see where it leads me. 

Michelle says:

I participated in Movember last year and felt compelled to do so again. Supporting men’s health, particularly mental health and suicide prevention, is important to me. In the United States, 75% of suicides are men. I lost a male figure in my life to suicide, so that especially hits close to home. As team captain (and the only Mo’ Sista), I stand by my team’s efforts this Movember and applaud the mustaches and funds they have grown.

Craig says:

The main motivator to participate in Movember this year was simply the sense of having to ever so slightly inconvenience yourself for the potential benefit of others. This is an important aspect of life: sometimes to help someone else you need to make slight sacrifices. Obviously, having to walk around with a mustache for a month is no great sacrifice; however, for someone who cannot stand having one, and emphatically sees themselves as a non-mustache individual, there is a bit of discomfort present. And, that's life. It's imperative that we help others, that we unify and do whatever is within our power to aid our immediate community, and our larger community: the world. Small steps like participating in Movember remind us of this, and prime us for continuing on the path of giving. This may all sound a bit lofty, but it is heartfelt. 

Steve says:

You would think my second go around with a mustache would be a bit less unnerving for me, but I kept catching my reflection and wondering "What is THAT on your face?!?!" I'm always incredibly humbled by the generosity of friends and family who both donate to this cause every year, and agree to be seen in public with me while I'm looking my worst. All in all, the mustache does its job as it is an opener for conversations about the real health issues the Movember movement is tackling. 

Jeff C says:

I had done No-Shave-November in the past, but this year was the first time that I had heard of Movember. I was surprised that the rules only allowed you to keep a mustache, and shave everything else off, but it led to some interesting results. This seemed like a perfect opportunity to do something fun while raising money for a good cause.

None of this would have been possible without the generous support of our donors. Thank you to each and every one of you! Together, we are helping change the face of men’s health.