Do Your Part
Well, it’s November again, the month we refrain from shaving and embrace the natural. But do you know why we participate in No-Shave November? It’s a cause that is rooted in awareness and stimulating conversations about cancer and men’s health … and also a FUN tradition to bring in the transition from Fall to Winter.
There are two groups that ask men (and women) to let it grow this month and donate the money you’d spend on shaving and grooming to cancer prevention and men’s health issues: No-Shave November and The Movember Foundation. Both organizations are 501(c)(3) non-profits.
No-Shave November
The No-Shave November movement was started in 2009 in Chicago as way to honor a father of eight children who died from colon cancer. The group funds cancer research and prevention programs with the American Cancer Society, Prevent Cancer Foundation, Fight Colorectal Cancer, and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.
The concept, according to www.no-shave.org, is
“to grow awareness by embracing our hair, which many cancer patients lose, and letting it grow wild and free. Donate the money you typically spend on shaving and grooming to educate about cancer prevention, save lives, and aid those fighting the battle.”
The online group encourages men and women to give up the razor for 30 days and donate typical grooming expenses to the foundation.
But don’t just let it grow, start by going to www.no-shave.org/register to sign up for a challenge, set goals, and track your progress. The site offers your own personalized fundraising website.
The Movember Foundation
The Movember Foundation promotes the month of November each year as the time to raise awareness and vital funds for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and depression in men. The foundation research indicates the following:
The state of men’s health is in crisis. Men experience worse longer-term health than women and die on average six years earlier. Prostate cancer rates will double in the next 15 years. Testicular cancer rates have already doubled in the last 50. Three quarters of suicides are men. Poor mental health leads to half a million men taking their own life every year. That’s one every minute.
This global initiative that began in 2003 in Australia, encourages men (and women) to let their hair grow as a way to start difficult conversations about men’s health and have a goal to reduce premature deaths of men by 25% by 2030.
There are MANY ways you can participate with the Movember Foundation’s initiative:
- Take your mustache to the next level and post pictures using #Movember and #WhyWeMo
- Host a Fundraiser event for the cause – get your friends and family involved – click here for men’s health fundraising details!
- Spread the word. Be a champion for men’s health issues. There are a series of images and memes here you can use online to promote facts and awareness about Men’s Health, Prostate Cancer, Testicular Cancer, and Mental Health and Suicide.
And remember ladies, you don’t have to be a man to care about Men’s Health!
