2013 was the first year that I have fully participated in Movember Madness. If you are unaware as to what “Movember” actually is I will quote from their website- “As an official global charity, Movember’s vision is to have an everlasting impact on the face of men’s health. During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of millions of moustaches around the world. Through the power of the moustache, vital funds and awareness are raised to combat prostate and testicular cancer and mental health challenges.”
The growing of mustaches, (Mo’s), as a fundraiser was unofficially started in Adelaide, Australia in 1999 and by 2004 the Movember Foundation Charity had been established and now there are over twenty countries hosting Movember charity events annually. Canadians, not surprisingly, are the largest donation contributors of any nation. (Interesting statistics for your information: Canada-173,215 participants=Total money raised-$28,594,193; UK-254,885=$22,562,934; Australia-122,358=$20,189,277; USA-219,151=$20,182,355).
For a first-timer I think my humble efforts in both the mustache growing and the fundraising were pretty decent. While I didn’t manage to get corporate or personal donations amounting to the $131,727 like the top-spot Canadian contributor I’m pretty happy with my few hundred dollars. Wait ‘til next year.
I can always improve my fund-raising techniques but there is only so much one can do in the mustache growing department, I would think. Putting it simply, either you can or you can’t. I had to remind an overzealous, competitive young male co-worker that mustache growing is neither a skill nor a talent. A person’s facial hair will grow where it will grow as fast as it will grow based on your genetics, unless artificially enhanced, of course.
Now, I suppose one could get some hormonal injections or have some back, nostril, eyebrow or other various anatomically located hairs surgically removed and then implanted somewhere on one’s face, if one was so inclined and one had oodles of money to spend on frivolous and foolish type stuff, but I think I’ll just stick to what nature gave me and call it a day. Or 30 days, as it were.
Growing up in the 60’s and 70’s, when men’s hair was long and shaggy and facial hair was even longer and shaggier, the pressure was definitely put on young males to get busy and grow something, you know? I spent years wishing I could grow a decent moustache and a longer time actually growing one that didn’t look like it was penciled in. Being a late bloomer, I was well into my twenties before it finally started to look like something. On the other hand, I know buddies who had sprouted facial hair and were shaving in grade six! And, no, they weren’t 18 years old. Although there was that one guy…oh, nevermind.
My guess is that during Movember it doesn’t really matter what kind of mustache you grow or how long it grows or how salty or peppery it actually is but that you just grow one. And raise some money and awareness of men’s health issues while you do it.
Mustache quotes are hard to come by so I’ll leave you with this one: “I hate it when you give someone a sincere compliment on their mustache and then suddenly she’s not your friend anymore.” Anonymous.
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