We’re creeping towards the end of November and the moustaches, which many have grown in recognition of the Movember campaign, are turning into full-on dental drapes.
This year, we have our very own Movember mascot. Meet Mo’ Joe and his wonderful lip toupee, also known as CHÉOS Program Head of Clinical Trials Dr. Joel Singer and his favourite 90s fashion trend. In addition, the CHÉOS team has been rallying together to move 60 km this month for the 60 men we lose to suicide every hour of every day.
About Movember
In 2003, two friends in Australia got together and were joking about old fashion trends. One stood out to them…the flavour saver, the nose neighbour, the moustache. They decided to convince other friends to bring back the ‘tache, but not just for jokes. This was the beginning of Movember, a campaign to raise awareness about men’s mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer, and testicular cancer.
In its initial year, 30 men grew their moustaches through the month of November. Since then, participation has grown to more than six million people worldwide. The accompanying fundraising campaign has supported over 1,250 men’s health projects to date.
How CHÉOS is supporting Movember
This year, CHÉOS has committed to moving at least 60km as part of the Movember campaign.
In our communications and knowledge translation department, manager Sean Sinden has been running around Vancouver to drum up the kilometres, while social media officer Alison Müller hiked in some fresh snow and made a new friend on Sasquatch Mountain (pictured above, far left).
Gina Willis has also been on the run. 5km, 8km, or 10km. No distance is too much for our senior operations manager. And Research Associate Aggie Black has been moving at least 6 km a day to support our efforts. She is joined by her son, Ben, who has been one of her exercise buddies throughout the pandemic. They encourage each other to get outdoors, rain or shine.
“The Movember event at CHÉOS encouraged me to track my physical activity, encourage others in my life to join me in exercising, and remember my beloved Dad and other men in my life who’ve been impacted by prostate cancer and other conditions,” says Aggie (pictured above, second from the left).
One staff member escaped B.C. to move in more exotic climes. Dr. Mirek Piasezny, our chief information officer, hiked around Hawaii (pictured above, second from the right). Amazing effort, amazing place!
Finally, our Movember mascot himself, Dr. Joel Singer, cycled 86 km and hiked a whopping 200 km. And he didn’t do it alone. Dr. Singer was accompanied by his new Movember moustache (pictured above, far right). Looking wonderful!
Thank you to everyone who has moved, and continues to move, for this fantastic cause! By the way, it’s not too late for you to participate. All you have to do is email amuller@cheos.ubc.ca with your exercise activity and the kilometres covered. Bonus points for a picture!
Click here if you would like to donate to CHÉOS’ fundraising efforts.
