I can’t believe it’s already October! Where has the year gone? It feels like only yesterday when I was celebrating my birthday, or even enjoying the summer… And now it’s just talks of winter clothes, pumpkin everything and the coming Christmas (or Holiday season, if that’s your thing).

With November just around the corner, there are more projects on my horizon.

Today, I want to write about a charity I will be supporting in November. As you might know, Movember is a charity that works towards raising awareness for men’s health.

I’m sure you all have a relative in your families (maybe even yourself!) who never wants to go to the doctor. For some reason, this is usually the men! I don’t know why this is, maybe it’s a fear of showing a weakness, maybe it’s just trying to show that “father knows best” but truth is many men don’t have regular health checks, some as simple as a blood test. Some stuff is harmless or simply annoying, like a mild cold; but there are some serious health issues that, if caught early on, are perfectly treatable. True, nobody likes having a semi-stranger poking around your body with a stick whilst making notes on a chart, but a visit to a doctor can save us (you!) many months or even years of suffering and pain.

Movember not only raises funds for men’s health programmes, but it also raises awareness about those health issues and offers help and support to men suffering from different ailments.

It might sound like something some other dude might be suffering from, not you, and hey, you might be right, but think about this:

1 in 8 men will get prostate cancer in their lifetime.
Prostate Cancer UK

Take a moment to let that sink in… 1 in 8 men.

Think about how many male family members you have, how many male friends. More than 8? That means that at least one of your closest ones will get prostate cancer in his life. It might be him, or it might be you.

I’m not trying to scare anyone, but it’s always easier to think of these things as a distant illness that will happen to someone else, but that someone else might be someone very close. Wouldn’t you want that person to have all the support and medical help they will need?

I know money doesn’t grow on trees and we’re all quite squeezed at the end of the month, but a little definitely goes a long way.

This year, I am supporting Movember again. Helping this charity has an element of fun, as men grow their moustaches to raise awareness. Other charities have different symbols: ribbons of various colours, poppies for war veterans… We have all grown accustomed to seeing people wearing those so that they don’t seem strange at all. Some Mo Bros wear their moustaches (or mos) with pride, whilst others feel embarrassed. If the men in your life choose to grow their mo for Movember, show your support, even if they look funny. It’s only a month! As a lady, I personally don’t have a mo to grow, so I’m helping in different ways as a Mo Sista!

Here’s how:

First of all, by raising awareness. The men in my life are important to me. My dad, my brother, my uncles… Some of my best friends are men. I can count them all and I’m sad to say that, statistically, quite a few could draw the short straw here. I want to do something for them, I want people to help all the charities working towards cancer research and stop people dying because of cancer and, during this month, prostate and testicular cancer in particular.

If you’ve read this blog before, you know that I write about what I feel is important, about things that touch me or inspire me in some level and I am always trying to live happier and be a better person. So that’s why I am writing about this today.

Secondly, I am volunteering myself. The company I work for has organised (I’ve organised, really) 2 groups to participate in 2 different runs in London: 5k and 10k in Battersea and Greenwich Parks, organised by MoRunning. I signed up for both straightaway. The entry fee goes towards fundraising and organising these events, which in turns translates into more fundraising.

I also created a page for donations, because giving time is great, but donating money is sometimes necessary. You might think that it’s easy to just run whatever distance and then just ask for money, and you could be right. However, to keep in line with what I preach, I’ve already donated £10 to my office team and £10 to my own page as well. It’s not much, but it’s an amount I can afford and I’m comfortable with.

We are also doing fundraising activities at work, like baking cakes to sell, maybe auctions…

So, if you’re still there after reading all of the above, and especially if you’re a regular reader, I would like to ask you a favour. Yes, here it comes:

I would like to ask you to donate money to Movember for me. I always try not to spam all of you with plugs for the different fundraising activities I take part in, as I know absolutely everyone is asking for money these days. Instead, I normally volunteer and give up my own time, I donate money to others’ causes, and even donate to my own fundraising events when a minimum needs to be reached, because I think it’s only fair to do what I ask of others.

If everyone of you who have read this blog post donates just £2 (minimum donation), we could raise up to £200 together. Can you do that for me? Just this time?

I would be very grateful if you shared this post or my donation page (click on “donate” below to be re-directed) with your friends and family. Let’s try to change the face of men’s health together.

DONATE

Look around you to those who matter the most in your life. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight… Do the count.