Pia Strømme
Staff Writer
During November men from all over the world are encouraged to let their moustaches grow. Universities across Ireland are joining the hair-growing process and the goal is to raise money and awareness for men’s health.
“Every year you can see some bearded students who normally are clean shaved, so it’s nice to know you’re not alone” Said Jack Jonasson, a student at Griffith College.
The project started in Australia in 2003 as a bet between a group of friends to see who could grow the best mo (slang for moustache). Since then it has spread across the globe. Last year Ireland raised €1.6 million.
1st of November is the start of the 30 day long project where the participants, also known as Mo Bros, can register with a cleaned shaved face. The rest of the month they will be growing their moustaches, in any shapes or sizes, supported by the women in their lives, the Mo Sisters.
The money they raise goes to The Irish Cancer Society.
Movember Ireland has been on tour around the country to get students involved in the initiative.
Many universities are organising Movember Parties and other events to engage their students.
“We have visited colleges in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick.” Said Dave Byrne, from the PR agency Thinkhouse, who is organising Movember Ireland.
“One of our biggest challenges is to get people to register at our web site. A lot of students grow the moustache, but don’t register.” Dave said.
You can choose to be a part of the college team or join as an individual student.
“I think the initiative is very appealing to students, because if there is any time young men can grow a moustache without complaints, it’s in college. It sounds like a fun idea to make a college team.” Jack Jonasson added.
There are more than 30,000 people diagnosed with cancer in Ireland every year. 2,500 of them are men with prostate cancer. This makes it the second most common cancer for men in Ireland. Movember’s goal is to make people more aware about men’s health, and to make men talk more openly about their problems.
They want to create awareness about a serious subject, whit a funny twist.
Once registered they are advised to email friends, family and local businesses, asking for support.
“Rod Scanlan decided to join the project and let his moustache grow last November. He managed to raise €950. “I made the money through sponsorship cards I downloaded from the website and also sent a link around on email and on my Facebook status to friends and family to lodge money into my Movember account.”
To get more people involved they launch competitions online, where the participants can upload photos of the process. Some of the titles you can win this year are Best Mo in Character, Team Mo, Miss Movember, and Man of Movember.
“The plot is great. My experience is that it really got people thinking and talking about prostate cancer. Some people thought my moustache was cool, others thought I looked scary. But it all added to more awareness as it got people talking about it which were the purpose of it. And then they donated money after seeing the effort I went to.” Rod said.
Movember, the month once known as November, has achieved great success since it started eight years ago. So far 1.1 million Mo Brothers and Sisters from all over the world have raised €123 million. Movember has also started Movember Global Action Plan, for doctors and scientist to work together globally, for the fight against prostate cancer. This way they can share knowledge, results and resources across the borders.
When Movember comes to an end they host a number of Gala Partés, both in Ireland and the rest of the world. These events are held to thank all the participants for their help.
