'Movember' Sprouts at U of G
November 01, 2011 - Campus Bulletin
Mike Ackland soon will be growing a “mo,” and he hopes others will sport moustaches of their own for 30 days starting today. The fifth-year student in the College of Management and Economics is leading the University of Guelph’s “Movember” campaign to raise awareness for men’s health issues, particularly prostate cancer.
“Movember is unique in its approach. It provides a fun and effective way for everyone to get involved in raising awareness and funds for men’s health,” Ackland said. “Each guy who registers individually or as a team at Movember.com and grows a moustache becomes a ‘Mo Bro’ – a living billboard for the campaign.”
Last year, Ackland and his friends raised more than $7,000 for Prostate Cancer Canada through Movember. That experience made them think about the importance of a healthy lifestyle at all ages.
“One in seven men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime,” Ackland said. “I think it’s really important for university students to know this, because early detection is an element of prevention when it comes to many major health issues. Prostate cancer is 90-per-cent curable if caught in time, so being proactive rather than reactive is the key to staying healthy.”
Women can also register in Movember as “Mo Sistas” to organize fundraising events, lead campaign teams and share the message.
“We’re also counting on the support of Mo Sistas to help make Movember a campus-wide success this year,” Ackland said. “We hope to top last year’s numbers. Having a campus network unites our team and individual efforts into a larger movement that represents our collective support of a great cause.”
Funds will go to Prostate Cancer Canada, a national foundation working to eliminate the disease through research, education, support and awareness.
Begun in Australia, the Movember campaign now involves more than 1.1 million people worldwide. In 2010, about 119,000 Canadians raised $22.3 million.
For more information about the U of G Movember campaign, visit http://ca.movember.com/mospace/network/UniversityofGuelph.
