Movember: Changing the Face of Men’s Health

Dads 4 Change is pleased to welcome Doug French, co-founder of the Dad 2.0 Summit and XY Media Group. Doug explains the facial hair-palooza and rad cause that is Movember and encourages men everywhere to grow a Mo for men’s health: 

On November 6, 2009, I went on a job interview for a gig I really wanted. The problem, though, was that I was a week into Movember, and I agonized over whether to shave my face clean. Ultimately, I chose not to, because I was committed to my teammates and I wanted my potential employer to know what I stood for. When I walked in with my scraggly lip growth, however, my interviewer was a bit perplexed.

I spent most of that month explaining that an idea among some Australian blokes in 2003 had coalesced into a worldwide movement to “change the face of men’s health.” The plan was to have friends, family, and whoever else sponsor you to grow a mustache during the month of November, and contribute the funds to research testicular and prostate cancers. And in an Awareness Environment festooned with ribbons of every tinge, we were distinguishing ourselves by growing them on our faces.

Now, Movember is a global phenomenon, whose fundraising has erupted from $45,000 in 2004 to almost $23 million last year. And when I walk around town with my Mo, most people know exactly what I’m up to and acknowledge it with a wordless nod.

This is the fourth Movember that the Dad 2.0 Summit is committed to help support LiveStrong, the Prostate Cancer Foundation, and other programs dedicated improving men’s health across the globe. This year, we’re partnering with Life of Dad, The National At-Home Dads Network, and City Dads to build the biggest team of dads and bloggers we can muster, and we appreciate every dollar of support for every lip we can get—whether you can’t manage more than a wispy smudge, or your five-o’clock shadow comes in at 2:30. Join us, and we promise your loved ones will understand (even if you skeeve them out a bit at Thanksgiving).