How to groom your moustache. In the News: How You Can Support ‘Movember’ at work - Abel

Take a look around your office. Are there a suspiciously high number of your male colleagues sporting some seriously questionable facial hair? Perhaps Dave from IT has what can best be described as peach fuzz, while Bill in accounts receivable has a beard that would make a mountain yeti jealous, and the rest of the sales team has varying degrees of terrible moustaches going on? Yep, we thought so. Movember mustache guide.

Don’t panic – they haven’t lost a company-wide bet that you were unaware of. Rather, they’re likely participating in ‘Movember,” a movement that began in 2004 in Australia when 30 men challenged themselves to grow a mustache (or “mo”) for 30 days to raise awareness about prostate cancer and depression among men. This group of individuals would later become the Movember Foundation charity, and their quest to raise awareness has since spread worldwide.

Yes, it’s a little bit silly, but as the group notes, the “mo” is actually a really great conversation starter and they recommend leveraging your scruff – for which they have multiple names or styles, as seen here in their How to Grow a Mustache Guide – to steer the conversation towards men’s health topics. Further, they suggest that you have a little fun with your ‘mo – take donations to grow it out or to wear it in a super ridiculous style or, alternatively, if you’re normally hirsute, auction off the removal of said beard to the highest bidder, with all donations going to charity of course!

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But growing a beard is only one of Movember’s primary participation events. The group seeks to be inclusive – especially for women who may struggle to grow out that mustache. Indeed, the month also promotes “the move challenge” – which recommends that you challenge your friends or coworkers to commit to engaging in physical activity for 30 minutes for 30 days, and a party plan, whereby participants are encouraged to host gatherings for a charity auction, trivia night or even a mustache themed bash, all with an eye towards raising awareness and money for the cause.

If you would like to participate, the Movember website has a wealth of resources, including a Corporate Mustachery Guide detailing how your organization can get involved; ideas for Move in Movember events; a party planning guide ; and lots and lots of fantastic promotional materials to help spread the word (many of which are customizable ) about your firms’ participation.

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