Mo Money, Fewer Problems

The end of the 2011 growing season.

Each year the decision to participate in Movember is one I make with the greatest ambivalence. As a 15 year old high school student I spent many days and nights wishing that I might one day be able to grow something that the world would recognize as a beard. Now that I have come halfway close to having that wish granted, it seems ungrateful and reckless to shave it off. Part of me fears looking like a someone other than myself, another part fears that my beard might never grow back. I didn't say this was rational, but who ever said people were rational?

The reason that I ultimately take up my razor and clog the bathroom sink is three-fold. First and foremost it is about solidarity. I may not be a fund-raising dynamo on the Movember circuit. Each year I can rely on a couple donations from people in my life who support me no matter what. In my best year, I was able to leverage my position of authority at the Adventure Guide cash register to raise $500. A respectable sum, but not even close to what the top Mo Bros post up. I don't let the numbers get me down though, because I know that my pitiful mustache represents something more. By growing a mustache in November, I am instantly letting anyone else participating know that we are in this together. The popularity of this somewhat ridiculous event has exploded in the past 5 years and I like to think that it is at least in part because enough people like me have let the more reluctant Mo Bros know that it's okay. If our facial hair has inspired at least one other person to participate, and they have done the same, our influence has reached far beyond the dollar amounts on our Movember profile pages.

Adventure Guide Mo Broing

The second reason is the most obvious sounding one there is. I am anti-cancer. Cancer is at the heart of Movember and parting with my beard is how I let the world know that I value the end of suffering for others above my own appearance. I heard a great quote on the radio yesterday that went something like "A man who is warm cannot possibly know the perspective of a man who is cold," so I don't pretend to know what having cancer is like, but I have seen and read enough to know that we should be doing everything in our power to put an end to it. Cancer destroys lives in every segment of society. Rich or poor. Young or old. Cancer is indifferent and relentless. Although Movember focuses on men's cancers, progress in one form of the disease can hardly prevent progress in treating its other manifestations. At the very least it raises consciousness about the issue for a month in a way that is more funny than it is depressing... The point kind of makes itself. Cancer is bad and it deserves swift death. Let's move on.

The third and final reason why I Movember (yeah, I verbed the noun) is because it represents what a lot of ordinary people can do when given the proper outlet for generosity. We all identify with the message of charity. We know that all kinds of important causes deserve our attention, but we don't live in a world that typically encourages philanthropy. We spend a good chunk of our lives chasing money and are told to hang onto our wallets for dear life, only letting dimes and nickels escape if they can provide us with the things we need to live or if they improve our lives directly in some obvious way. Movember makes charity more accessible. Instead of the face of a single non-profit organization, Movember has the face of people you know. It may be a goofy and ironic face, but it's a face you are more likely to identify with. It makes it easier to give $5, $10, $50, or even $100 because you feel like you know where it is going and who it is supporting.

My first 'stache.

Obviously that is an illusion. Each Mo Bro is a middle man that helps to funnel money into the hands of people who are using it to do good. As a grad student, I know the difference that funding for research can make. It allows you to eat and have a place to live while you use your education to pursue something you feel is important. That is the real point of Movember. It is means for raising money that makes people laugh and encourages them to give to a great cause. Each year, across the globe, it raises tens of millions of dollars so that smart people can use their brains to work towards something amazing. That is something I am beyond proud to be a part of.

With that in mind, donate it you can. Every little bit helps.

My Mo Space: http://ca.movember.com/mospace/782322
My Team: Team Rabbit Smoking a Pipe

Thank you and good luck,

Steve