Movember Challenge!
DONATE TO MOVEMBER CHALLENGE / DONATE TO NO SHAVE NOVEMBER
It all happened in Melbourne Australia in 2003 when two mates, Travis and Luke were enjoying a beer in the town of Fitzroy, at a place called the Gypsy bar.
They were both talking about how the mustache was no longer in style and that they wish it would make a come back.
After a night of talking, they decided to talk to their mates about an idea they had to grow a mustache as a fundraiser for breast cancer. They were inspired by a friend’s mother who had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
The rules that they created which are still in place today was to charge friends $10 to grow a mustache for cancer. (Maybe mention No Shave November? differences?)
They got down to work and designed a logo for Movember and sent around an email to all their friends titled “Are you man enough to be my man?”, 30 agreed to take the Movember challenge!
The first was a success and everyone had a lot fun helping to raise funds for a great cause.
The following year they decided to take things to the next level! In 2004 they started a company and created a website. They were definitely taking things to the next level!
After some research they decided to focus on men’s health and bringing awareness to prostate cancer. They went looking for a foundation and found the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA).
The foundation was not an official men’s partner but they agreed to accept funds from their 2014 campaign. The Mo Bros ended up raising AUD 54,000.
All the proceeds from the campaign went to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and it was their largest single donation, ever!
In 2005 a new campaign was created with the slogan “Give Prostate Cancer a Kick in the Arse” and they entered into a formal agreement with the PCFA. PCFA had become the first official partner for Movember.
At the end of 2005 the group has raised AUD 1.2 million for the PCFA.
In 2006 an official Australian charity was founded by the four original members called the Movember foundation. This is when fundraising officially became a full-time job. The official tagline for Movember was: Changing the Face of Men’s Health.
The second partner was brought on because of depression, that had become a siginifigant issue for men and the movember foundation partnered with beyondblue.
Beyondblue is the national depression and anxiety initiative.
Also, in 2006 a partnership was formed with the Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand. Several small campaigns were also run in the UK and Spain.
In all of 2006 a total of AUD 9.3 million was raised
All of the enthusiasm and encouragement from around the world led the four co founders to take their effort international.
Adam moved to Los Angeles to launch the US and Canadian campaigns in partnership with The Prostate Cancer Foundation and Prostate Cancer Canada. JC launched the UK campaign with The Prostate Cancer Charity, and Luke ran the Australian and New Zealand campaigns.
Donations and contributions continue to grow and in 2007 over AUD 21 million was raised.
Since those early years Movember has continued to grow and has expanded to 21 countries and raised more than AUD 730 million to fund over 1000 men’s health programs.
Today the group focuses on 4 key men’s health issues: prostate cancer, testicular cancer, poor mental health and physical inactivity. This has led to breakthroughs in scientific research and focussed the conversation on men’s health and issues.
We encourage you to make a donation to either Movember or No Shave November, both are for a great cause!
