It’s November, this can only mean one thing, it’s movembre month!
What is Movember you might ask yourself, well it’s really simple.
Movember is an annual event involving the growing of moustaches or beard during the month of November to raise awareness of men’s health issues such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention.
The people who participate at the annual event refers to themselves as ‘’Mo Bros’’ and “Mo Sistas”.
The story:
The idea was born in 2003 in a pub in Melbourne, Australia, where two friends, (Travis Garone and Luke Slattery) originally met up for a quiet beer but ended up deciding to grow moustaches for men’s health!
That same year, they found 30 mates willing to take up the challenge but unfortunately, they did not raise a single dollar.
However, the next year, they grew from 30 guys to 480 Mo Bros and Mo Sistas and managed to raise 30 710$ (since 2003) that went to the ‘’Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia’’ (PCFA). At the time, it was the largest donation the PCFA had ever received.
In 2006 New Zealand decided to take part to the challenge while Movember received the official Australian Charity status. From 2003 to 2006 they had managed to raise 6 298 601$.
In 2010 the Movember foundation reaches a million Mo Bros and Mo sistas. Up to that point, Australia, and New Zealand had been joined by Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Ireland, Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, UK and USA.
In 2011, Movember officially launches campaigns in Belgium, Denmark, and Norway and is ranked in the top 100 best NGOs (charities) in the world by the Global Journal based on three main criteria: impact, innovation, sustainability. To put this into context, there are an estimated 5 million NGOs around the world.
In 2015, the organization reaches 5 232 625 Mo Bros and Mo sistas around the world as well as having raised 542 million euros since 2003 and having funded 1,250 men’s health project.
As of 2017, the Movember received a ranking of 49 out of the top 500 NGOs around the world. 20 countries are actively participating to the raise funds including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Hong Kong, Germany, Norway, Singapore, Sweden and Swizerland who joined during the years following 2015.
The movement is truly inspiring, with a humble origin to an international involvement, it managed to grow its community over the years. In today’s society men’s emotions feel neglected or forgot about as they are supposed to be ‘’tough’’, but just as everyone else, they have their own problems. Movember foundation is here to help them through their hard times.
You can make a donation today, either to a friend that is participating or to Movember directly with this link: https://ex.movember.com/donate
Whatever you grow will save a Bro.
Images borrowed from the official Movember website.
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