18 Nov 2011 No Comments
Donate your face for a good cause.
Have you noticed the curious facial-hair phenomenon growing (literally) all over the country? Has your boss or best friend begun to look like Burt Reynolds or a character from a 1970’s soap opera? Fear not, friends. The men you have observed are not simply boycotting shaving this November. Chances are they are participating in Movember, a widely successful fundraiser designed to raise awareness about men’s health issues and prostate cancer.
Since Movember’s Australian beginnings in 2003, an astounding 174 million dollars has been raised to support organizations such as LiveStrong and The Prostate Foundation. Moustaches have been popping up in college campuses and businesses all over America. When asked, “Why Movember?” Quinnipiac University’s Jason Milde, a member of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity and successful Movember fundraiser, had the following to say: “We chose Movember because prostate cancer is an extremely debilitating and deadly disease and we felt as though it was under recognized within the college community. We also felt that Movember provided a fun outlet in which we were able to raise awareness as well as money for a great cause.” Milde isn’t alone in his opinion of Movember. The fundraiser has quickly gained popularity- according to the official US Movember website, 64,500 “Mo Bros and Mo Sistas” raised 7.5 million dollars in 2010!
Many Movember-themed fundraising pages have been created on FirstGiving’s website this month. Even members of the FirstGiving team, including our CEO, have chosen to participate this year! (Things have been getting quite hairy at FirstGiving’s Boston office…) Top fundraisers on FirstGiving include the HEADstrong Foundation, an organization created in 2005 to raise awareness about and eliminate blood cancers. HEADstrong has been hugely success in mobilizing high school and college lacrosse teams around the country with their “Lacrosse Mustache Madness” fundraiser. With lacrosse-themed prizes awarded to the top fundraisers and weekly awards given to the best “Stache Shots,” supporters of HEADstrong have raised over 55,000 dollars over the past month.
Movember fundraising ideas
Movember is not only for those with mo’ growing abilities. There are ways the moustache-less can get involved, outside of donning a stick-on moustache all month (although that would be pretty cool, too). After selecting an organization that supports men’s health, create your own FirstGiving fundraising page to collect online donations. At the end of the month, host a celebration during which your moustachiod friends can show off the fruits of their labor. Decorate your house with pictures of famous men with moustaches! (Who wouldn’t want pictures of Tom Selleck, Hulk Hogan, or Charlie Chaplin plastered on their walls?) Provide a prize for the best-looking, most well-groomed mo’ of the bunch. (And be sure to take lots of pictures!) Its moustache season-and only one question remains! How will YOU get involved this Movember?
