By Eddie McAteer, Sports Editor
The University of Bristol’s Movember effort has passed the £40,000. Together, individuals and societies have been raising money for men’s health and are well on track to meet their target of £50,000.
As the UK’s second lockdown continues its infuriating plod through these long November nights, members of University sports teams have been growing magnificent moustaches to complement their Movember t-shirts.
The £12.50 T-shirts came with a free Redbull from Bullman Bristol and 100% of the profits went to Movember in support of men’s health. They were also backed by Bristol Bears’ Dave Attwood, who was once a student at Bristol and is a men’s rugby alumnus.
In addition to this, some clubs have been getting creative over lockdown by completing various challenges such as eyebrow slits, shaved heads and running.
The combination of T-shirts, ‘taches and tasks has helped to raise a phenomenal £40,345, which will almost certainly have increased by the time this is published.
The men’s hockey club and the men’s rugby club helped make up a significant proportion of this sum, having raised over £7,000 each, more than Google UK, Sainsbury’s UK and Virgin Media UK.
It’s not just societies raising money though, there are plenty of individual efforts that continue to raise money and awareness for male wellbeing. Some have even collected over £1,000 in donations to contribute to the Bristol University network.
Two members of the men’s football club will also be completing their own challenge when lockdown lifts, as they plan to run an ultramarathon from Bristol to Cardiff. With feats like this happening across the student population, it is no wonder that so much money has been raised for this charity.
The charitable initiative Movember began in 2003 when two friends met up in an Australian bar and encouraged their friends to grow moustaches to raise awareness about the challenges faced by men worldwide.
Starting with only 30 participants, the charity has grown exponentially and, since its foundation, there have been over six million Mo Bros and Mo Sisters working together for men’s health.
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The efforts at the University of Bristol reached the £30,000 mark on 19 November, which could not have been better timed because this International Men’s Day, a day to celebrate the positive value men bring to the world.
This year, the theme was ‘better health for men and boys’ in response to the silent men’s health crisis that Movember continues to confront.
Everyone involved can be proud of what they have achieved and, with the £50,000 mark being just around the corner, there is hopefully more to come.
Featured: Epigram / Eddie McAteer
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