As November winds down, participants in Movember can finally shave off the moustaches that they have painstakingly groomed for the past month. Movember is a month-long event during which men grow moustaches in order to raise awareness of men’s health issues, such as prostate cancer.
This year the University of Toronto Network on ca.movember.com, raised over $130,000. It is the number one university-based Movember fundraiser in the country. U of T is ranked the fourteenth-highest fundraising network in the country. Its closest competitor among universities is Western University, which is ranked nineteenth overall in Canada.
Dr. Rajiv Singal, a urologist at Toronto East General Hospital and an assistant professor in its Department of Surgery, raised $35,000 — more than any other individual in the U of T network. He kept a blog of his fundraising efforts over the course of the month. He used his blog posts to promote men’s health — in particular, to raise awareness about prostate cancer. In his blog, Singal states that: “The amount raised is really secondary.” Instead, he cites the “visible presence” of doctors in support of their patients as his motivation for being a part of Movember.
Singal said that he relied on his “large network of friends and colleagues” and social media to raise the large sum. Dr. Singal is ranked sixth in Canada and tenth in the world for his individual contributions to Movember. The Toronto East General Hospital Department of Surgery is ranked thirteenth in Canada, raising over $43,639 for men’s health.
Other honourable mentions at U of T include Andrea Copeland, who is the “Mo Sista” (female Movember participant) who raised the most money in the U of T network. She cites her interest in mental health as her motivation for getting involved in Movember. As a medical student, she is aware that, “men are notoriously bad at visiting the doctor,” and hopes that campaigns like Movember will discourage men from “sucking it up,” and instead seek treatment for their illnesses.
Copeland notes that although all major mental health institutions advertise special services for women, very few appear to exist specifically to help men. She believes that: “Mo Sistas are critical to the success of the Movember campaign,” and encourages more women to get involved. Copeland is also a member of the U of T Meds team, which raised the second largest U of T team amount at just under $20,000.
Beta Theta Pi is the greek association that raised the most funds. With a team of 36 members, it managed to raise nearly $3,000. At Beta, the motivation for growing moustaches and raising money is personal, as the father of two of its members was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer. The team is focused on reducing the stigma surrounding testicular and prostate cancer, and “starting conversations” about men’s health.
Canada tops the world’s Movember leaderboard, with $26,000,000 raised for men’s health programs so far.
