For many people, No Shave November is about seeing who can grow the most luscious of beards. At Madison No Fear Dentistry, we grow our facial hair as a reminder that there are many others struggling with both mental and physical illnesses throughout the world.
While it may have originally started out as just fun and games, last year we made the decision to partner with Movember and use this fun beard growing opportunity to raise awareness about men’s health.
So what is Movember?
Movember is a charity group that focuses on four specific issues of men’s health: prostate cancer, testicular cancer, suicide prevention and mental health. They currently aim to reduce the amount of men prematurely dying by 25% by the year 2030. View their motivational video below or visit their website at Movember.com.
Why did we choose Movember?
We believe that “No Fear” is more than just a saying. It is a mindset that we stand behind for a better world; a message that we want everyone to feel no matter what their situation may be. As we had previously participated in No Shave November for fun, Movember provided our dental team and patients a great way to continue this fun while also supporting a great foundation that supports real life people.
It was this information that really sold us...
In the United states alone, 3 out of 4 suicides are by men, and currently once every 60 seconds another man takes his life. Men’s mental health is something that is still looked at with judgement by many and we want to do our best to make sure that our patients and everyone in our office feels heard and supported.
On top of Mental health, Movember as an organization puts focus on cancer that men face at high rates. 1 in 9 men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. Movember is doing their best to make a change in the number of cases these cancers present over time with science that’s backed.
I’m sold how do I support the cause?
Movember encourages participants to grow out their hair in an effort to raise awareness and funds for their charity. What makes Movember extremely great is that there is no exclusion of sexes. They offer other ways to raise awareness such as running 60 miles throughout the month of November and other creative ways such as Harley rides and more.
No Fear Dentistry will have custom ‘mustache-tooth’ t-shirts that were designed in house by our marketing team member Josh. You can purchase these for $20 at the office and we will donate all the proceeds to the foundation. On top of that participating No Fear team members will be growing out their facial hair for the month. If you want to help, you can visit their website at movember.com or purchase a shirt at your next appointment.
If you are struggling with mental illness and need to talk to someone you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or contact the National Alliance on Mental Illness at 800-950-6264. You don’t have to struggle alone and we are here to support you as your dental care provider and friend.