A group of fundraisers from the University of Bath are putting their razors away for a whole month and growing moustaches to raise money to fight prostate cancer.
The worldwide fundraising challenge named ‘Movember’ consists of participants not shaving their top lip for the whole of November.
The team, who have called themselves ‘Unitache’ includes; Graham Waton from the International Office, Bruce Keeling from Human Resources and Rob Martin from Widening Participation & Outreach.
The idea, first thought of by a group of friends in Melbourne, Australia in 2003, dares men to alter their facial appearances by not shaving and growing a moustache. The challenge is simple, have a clean shaven face on 1 November and ‘grow your mo’ for the entire month.
Graham Waton, who is leading the ‘mo-bro band of brothers’, said: “Movember is a great way to raise much-needed money for such an important charity.
“We are proud to be representing the University of Bath in its support for the fight against prostate cancer and it is also a great excuse to be able to grow as outrageous ‘tashes’ as possible.
“It really is a worthwhile cause and we hope the University and the wider community will make donations to help us raise as much money and awareness as possible.”
Prostate Cancer is the most common cancer in men in the UK, accounting for 24 per cent of all new cases of cancer in men. 37,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year and 250,000 men are currently living with the disease.
Studies have shown that there is a 1 in 9 risk of men developing prostate cancer during their lifetime.
The money raised by Movember, which raised £10.3 million in the UK alone in 2010, goes directly to the Prostate Cancer Charity which fights the disease on four fronts: research, support, information and campaigning.
If you wish to donate towards the efforts of the ‘Unitache’ foursome, donations can be made online.