Get ready to see mustaches and beards on your Facebook feed. It’s No Shave November (or Movember, as some call it), a month dedicated to raising awareness about a variety of men's health issues.
The campaign is headed by the Movember Foundation, an organization that aims to encourage men during November to keep only their mustaches to raise awareness about prostate and testicular cancer, physical inactivity and mental health issues, according to the foundation’s website.
The idea is that men who don’t shave will use the money they would spend on grooming materials to donate to various charities, the foundation’s website said.
Poor health among men, especially issues related to cancer, has been one of the leading causes of death among men. In fact, according to 2013 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 23.5 percent of male deaths were from cancer alone.
“These are some of the biggest health issues faced by men,” the website’s page reads. “Together we're tackling them face-first.”
That’s why The Movember Foundation, which started in 2003 and has raised more than $650 million, encourages people of all ages and genders to donate to the campaign in hopes that contributions will fund programs dedicated to improving men’s health, according to the foundation’s website.
The foundation has worked in various ways to raise awareness. For example, this year they lunched a mobile video game called Run Mo Run, with all proceeds garnered from advertisements going towards the charity foundation, according to Gamespot.
The Movember Foundation also launched a new challenge called Move, a fitness challenge for 30 days that men and women can both do to show their dedication to the cause.
To help with the campaign, a number of various groups, including the Movember Foundation, have worked especially hard in the last few years to inspire people to donate to the cause.
For example, Lightology, a lighting fixture manufacturer, announced this year that it would donate 10 percent of all its proceeds to the Movember Foundation. The company hopes its proceeds will help expand men’s life expectancy, which is currently about five years less than women, according to USA Today.
“On behalf of Lightology, we are thrilled to support and donate to a cause that advocates men’s physical and mental health,” Lightology president Greg Kay said in a statement. “The Movember Foundation brings courage to those struggling with illness, promotes mental health and wellness, and strives to educate the world on lifelong wellness for men.”
Similarly, HP Sauce in the UK launched a weekly competition that asks participants to submit photos performing various tasks outlined by the sauce company, The Grocer reported. The winners will not only win a golden HP Sauce bottle, but also about $1,100 will be donated to a Movember charity in their name, according to The Grocer.
Not all groups have used the campaign to help with men’s health issues, though. For example, faith organizations started No Makeup November two years ago to encourage positive messages about true beauty, which I wrote about in 2013.
And, according to The Boston Globe, some organizations will use the campaign to lure in millennials, who are more likely to return to a business that they’ve donated to in the past.
“Nonprofits know the young adult you strike up a relationship with today can become a longtime supporter down the road,” Jim Klocke, CEO of the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network, told The Boston Globe.
That’s why the Movember Foundation told ABC News it’s not just about donating money, but raising awareness, according to ABC News. Even if someone doesn’t want to donate their money to a charity, just growing out a mustache will help spread awareness, ABC News reported.
"We are all about the mustache and only the mustache," Movember's U.S. director Mark Hedstrom told ABC News. "What we're asking them to do is participate by changing their appearance. What that fosters is a conversation."
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Herb Scribner is a writer for Deseret News National. Send him an email at hscribner@deseretdigital.com or follow him on Twitter @herbscribner.