Record-breaking Movember comes to an end

This years’ Movember has come to an end, and at the time of writing, participants had raised £1,206.90 for the Prostate Cancer Charity by foregoing shaving for a month and growing a moustache.

The statistics for the year have totalled over 111,000 participants in the UK. More than £7 million has been raised already, a total expected to increase even over the coming weeks, blasting last years’ 45,000 participants and £5 million. Globally, around half a million people have taken part, whilst last year the figures stood at around 255,755 participants raising over £26 million, “smashing all previous records”.

Over the last month galas, raffles and ‘Mo Parties’ took place to raise money for the charity and raise awareness of prostate cancer. Currently, voting for the ‘Moscars’ is ongoing. In the ‘Moscars’, videos about Movember are submitted by members for the chance to win Movember-themed prizes. The winners will be announced on 15 December. One video involves one moustache’d Mo Bro attempting to have a member of the public shave off his moustache on the streets of London. 500 people declined over 6 days, with thousands more walking past. Ultimately he succeeded in getting Hugh Grant and Sam Elliot to shave it off on the red carpet.

“I got involved in Movember because I saw how much the Students’ Union was supporting it and how some of my Facebook friends, not least my brothers, were taking part as well” commented Joey Knock, the highest fundraiser at the time of writing. “One of the main reasons that I took part was that my Dad died two years ago from prostate cancer, and he used to have a moustache. I wrote a note about it on Facebook. Knowing that people read it and understood that the moustache was more than just something to do was important to me. The moustache went off on December 1st. Some people said it was ‘sexy’ and I should keep it, others hated it. But when it came to shaving it off, I had to look away from the mirror, it wasn’t easy to do. I felt naked at first, but suddenly a lot younger.”

“I’ve grown quite attached to it, however it will be getting shaved off as my girlfriend definitely does not approve” said Warwick Students’ Union Sports Officer George Whitworth of his moustache.

“Dan Stevens [Students’ Union President] is most definitely still pre-pubescent,” Whitworth added.