After almost two years with a beard, last Monday night I decided to root out the old razorblade and reveal the baby face hidden beneath the rugged and manly exterior that so many people have become accustomed to. I signed up to Movember and chose to start growing my moustache from scratch.
Of course I had plenty of options to raise funds for health issues relating to men. Prostate cancer and testicular cancer were available through the Movember site to donate specifically for. As I don’t have any direct links through family members or friends who have suffered with those kinds of cancers I decided instead to raise money for suicide prevention and mental health.
I have had multiple people close to me either open up privately about mental health issues and suicidal thoughts or come out publically with their experiences. I myself have had my fair share of depression and the issue itself isn’t treated seriously enough by the leaders of the country, and so this MoBro finally found his cause.
A charity which was created in 2003 in Australia, Movember has since blown up across the globe raising over $542 million dollars worldwide with over 5 million ‘Mo Bros’ and ‘Mo Sistas’ in 21 countries signed up with the charity. Movember say they are the only charity dedicated to men’s health on a global scale, year round, with over 1,200 projects funded around the globe since its origins.
The Movember movement aims to reduce the number of premature male deaths by 25 per cent by 2030 with a vision of having an “everlasting impact on the face of men’s health.” As you may have noticed, the movement has most certainly changed the face of many Irish men, all with the same goal, to help stop men dying too young.
Andrew Byrne
Image Credit: i.e.movember.com
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