Tag: movember charity event

So I’ve already written a quick introduction to Movember – the charity event during the month of November that highlights prostate cancer. Here’s a little more information, direct from the site itself.

“Movember (the month formerly known as November) is a charity event held during November each year.

At the start of Movember guys register with a clean shaven face. The Movember participants, known as Mo Bros, have the remainder of the month to grow and groom their moustache, raising?money?and awareness along the way.

Movember culminates at the end of the month at the Gala Part?s. These glamorous and groomed events will see Alex Trebek look-a-likes battle it out on the catwalk for their chance to take home the prestigious Man of Movember title.

While growing a Mo is left to the guys, Mo Sistas (women that support their guys or just love Mos!) form an important part of Movember with their powerful feminine touch, by recruiting Mo Bros, helping to raise funds and attending the highly anticipated Gala Part?s.

But it’s not all fun and games, so why the extreme behaviour?

Which ever way we look at it, men are far less healthy than women. The average life expectancy for men is five years less than females.

The obvious question is why?

Men lack awareness about the very real health issue they face.? Many feel they have to be tough – “a real man” – and are reluctant to see a doctor about an illness or to go for regular medical check ups.

The aim of Movember is to change this attitude.? Make men’s health fun by putting the moustache?back on the face of men worldwide and raising some serious funds for prostate cancer.”

As you can see from my ugly mug here, I’m all clean shaven and ready to go. I’ll hitting the donation trail both online and offline over the next 30 days. If you want to support me, please go to my registered Movember page at the official site and make your donations, either via credit card or Paypal. It doesn’t matter how much – every little helps.

This is a great cause and I encourage everyone to take part in whatever way they can. And don’t forget to check back here in a month to see the results of my caterpillar growth!

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There are many different ways that social media can be used. For some people, it’s simply a way of connecting with others. For other people, it’s an effective business tool. On top of that, it can also be a great educational tool for newcomers to the Internet. Personally, I also feel that social media can be used to inspire greatness and knowledge.

A prime example of this was Blog Action Day earlier this month, when thousands of bloggers worldwide wrote about poverty. Not only did this show a combined voice on the desperation of poverty itself, it also proved how social media – when used cohesively – can open up a line of discussion on topics that are so often ignored or swept under the carpet.

Also this month, it’s been National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. While millions of people offline have been wearing pink ribbons to signify support, social media users have been showing support in their own ways. Twitter users have turned their profile pictures pink, while MySpace members have pink ribbon themes to offer their support.

Next month sees the annual Movember charity event, which highlights the importance of men’s health and getting regular check-ups. Of particular importance is looking for early signs, and prevention, of prostate cancer.

To support the event, men everywhere are being encouraged to grow moustaches – hence the name Movember (moustaches in November). I’m already getting my Twitter profile picture readied for the month, as are countless other men and women worldwide.

This is where social media is so inspiring to me.

Just making the small effort to change a Twitter profile pic (or any online profile), encouraging people to ask what it’s about, which in turn gets them involved. Strangers blogging about the same topic, offering a unified voice often more powerful than any newspaper or traditional media source.

Social media often gets cynical looks from people who don’t understand it, or who see it as a passing fad that will soon be replaced with the next big thing. While that may indeed happen, until then it offers a unique way for millions of voices to be heard and make a stand. Surely that’s something to applaud?