Fundraising
Almost 500 Carleton students and staff signed up for Movember through the Carleton network in November 2013. As of Nov. 27, the network raised $25,728 for the cause. The same network raised $48,139 by the end of November last year.
Movember is a movement to raise funds and awareness for men’s health in the month of November by sponsoring volunteers to grow out their moustaches. The official global charity originated in Australia in 2003 with 30 members, according to their website.
Ken Commerford-Everett is currently the top fundraiser for the Carleton network, with $1,345 raised so far.
The Carleton Eta Rho chapter of Sigma Pi fraternity is in first place for team fundraising with $1,555.
Mike Reynolds, a communications officer at Carleton, holds second place for top individual fundraiser, followed by third-year engineering student Kevin Heathcote. Both have participated in Movember for four years.
Heathcote posted health tips, moustache photos, Movember facts, and urged men to get regular check-ups on his social media outlets.
He said his moustache has evolved.
“First year I grew a straight across moustache . . . Third year I had a nice and thick one across my lip. This year is handlebars that trail all the way down my neck,” Heathcote said.
Reynolds said he made Movember fundraising a family affair by raising awareness with moustache fabric bow ties made by his wife, and baking Movember cookies with his four-year-old daughter.
“I still get my good morning and good night kisses . . . if I didn’t, I might be wanting to shave it off,” he said.
He said he’s taking the campaign a step further by getting a moustache tattoo on his arm after reaching his goal of $1,000.
Awareness
Rebecca Pyrah, a second-year history student at Carleton, is the co-chair of Movember Carleton and one of the eight committee members of Movember Ottawa.
Her duties include registering people under the Carleton network and helping to organize Movember events such as drop-in sports or the Carleton engineering pub night that happened Nov. 22.
Pyrah said she got involved with Movember four years ago when she saw a girl from her high school wearing a moustache. For the three years since, Pyrah has worn a fake moustache for the entire month of November.
“It’s annoying, but so is prostate cancer . . . Movember is all about starting conversations,” she said. “Carleton is on a really good track.”
Pyrah said she disagrees with people who say growing a moustache or “liking” a Facebook page for Movember is a form of “slacktivism.”
“No matter what, any publicity is good publicity,” she said.
Since getting involved in Movember, Pyrah’s father was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder following an on-the-job car crash, making the movement for men’s health more real.
“I focus my campaign on helping people realize that mental health illnesses are exactly the same with any other illnesses, and there is help,” she said.
