UW Combined Fund Drive

November 8, 2022

Shave lives this Movember

If you’ve seen more body and face hair than usual lately, there just might be a very good reason. “No-shave November” and “Movember” are global, month-long fundraising events to support men’s health issues.

No-Shave November, a non-profit organization focused on cancer awareness, was founded in 2009 by the family of Matthew Hill who passed away from colon cancer in 2007.

According to their website: “No-Shave November is a web-based, non-profit organization devoted to growing cancer awareness and raising funds to support cancer prevention, research, and education.”

More than 12 million dollars has been raised for cancer organizations through No-Shave November.

Men die on average five years earlier than women for often largely preventable reasons.

Mustaches in particular have been powerful tools for helping charities for nearly twenty years, according to movember.com, when in 2003, two friends in Australia began growing the mustache movement to fight cancer and suicide. The symbol of the moustache can be likened to the pink ribbon symbolizing breast cancer awareness.

November 19 is National Men’s Health Day, and will be another great chance to raise awareness and support organizations in men’s health

Talk to the men in your life about health issues

UWCFD member nonprofit organization Movember Foundation (charity code 1481696) offers a snapshot of men’s health in the the U.S., noting that the reasons for the poor state of men’s health are numerous and complex:

  • Lack of awareness and understanding of the health issues men face
  • Men not openly discussing their health and how they’re feeling
  • Reluctance to take action when men don’t feel physically or mentally well
  • Men engaging in risky activities that threaten their health
  • Stigmas surrounding mental health
  • Men are 24 percent less likely than women to have visited a doctor within the past year

The Movember Foundation aims to change this way of thinking by putting a fun twist on this serious issue. Using the moustache as a catalyst, the idea is to bring about change and give men the opportunity and confidence to learn and talk about their health and take action when needed.

Learn more about specific cancers disproportionally affecting men in this Whole U article: ‘No Shave November’ for Men’s Health.

Get involved

Closer to home, here in Seattle, there are some fun, impactful ways to participate. There is an event at Stoup Brewing in Kenmore benefiting the Movember Foundation, and tickets are for sale here.

For a good list of links to support either of these organizations without having to grow any hair, follow the link here.

Consider “Growing a Mo” or “Moving for Movember!” (Run or walk 60 miles over the month. That’s 60 miles for the 60 men we lose to suicide each hour, every hour across the world.)

Support

You can also set up monthly payroll deduction or make a one-time gift through the UWCFD to support the Movember Foundation or other UWCFD-member nonprofits working to better men’s lives and support their health.

Movember Foundation (charity code 1481696) has funded over 1,250 men’s health projects globally. The global organization strives to “change the face of men’s health,” and encourages conversations about men’s health that can be overshadowed by the social aspects of mustache-growing. The main areas for donations are battling testicular cancer, prostate cancer, and mental health issues. Over 6 million participants have registered since 2003 from over 20 countries

Prostate Cancer Foundation (charity code 0524527): One in six American men is diagnosed with prostate cancer each year. One dies every 19 minutes. The Prostate Cancer Foundation PCF is the world’s largest philanthropic supporter of prostate cancer research. The PCF’s urgent goal is to discover and develop new treatments and a cure for prostate cancer.

ZERO – The Project to End Prostate Cancer (charity code 0316051): In the fight to defeat prostate cancer, we are your source for information, your voice in government, and mobile screening services for America’s underserved communities.

Family Jewels Foundation (charity code 1482031): Family Jewels Foundation provides financial support to students whose sibling had cancer, and educates young men about the symptoms of testicular cancer, the 1 cancer of men ages 15-35, in memory of our son, who died at age 20 of testicular cancer.


Contributed by UWCFD campaign assistants Travis Hyde and Dean Speer.