charity focus
stiff upper lips
Mo’ mos Become a Mo Bro and grow a moustache for Movember, says Adele Rosi. Handlebar, Zorro, chevron, pencil... whatever style of moustache you hanker after, guys, it’s time to get growing. The humble ‘tache takes centre stage this month for Hong Kong’s second official Movember campaign. This global charity movement sees men growing facial fur on their upper lips to raise funds and awareness for men’s health issues, notably prostate and testicular cancer. According to the Hong Kong Cancer Fund (HKCF), the city’s total number of prostate and testicular cancer cases has tripled in the past decade, with more than 1,500 new cases recorded each year. Like many good ideas, the seed for Movember was sewn over a few beers in the pub. In 2003, a couple of Australian men were discussing the merits of the mo (Aussie slang for moustache) and decided it deserved a revival. They challenged a few mates to leave their upper lips unmown to see who could grow the best moustache in a month, which just
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happened to be November. They attracted so much attention, the next year they decided to do it again with money and a cause attached. A star was born. Today Mo Bros – supported by their Mo Sistas – in six continents raise hundreds of millions of dollars for charity. In Hong Kong’s inaugural Movember campaign last year, more than 1,800 officially
Zorro
Handlebar
Chevron
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registered participants raised about $4.5 million, and Movember 2013 is shaping up to be even bigger and bushier. On November 1, clean-shaven men register at hk.movember.com to officially become Mo Bros. They pledge to groom, trim and wax their way into the annals of fine moustachery and to wear their facial furniture all month. “It was great to see Hong Kong embrace the Movember movement last year – we couldn’t have asked for a better market entry,” says the spokesperson for Movember Asia, Greg Rafferty. “We’re excited to see the campaign grow in all sorts of ways.” All proceeds will directly benefit local prostate cancer initiatives driven by the HKCF and Movember’s Global Action Plan (GAP). “We will use the funds raised to develop a whole new survivorship programme for male cancer patients,” says HKCF founder and chief executive Sally Lo. Mo Bros, we salute you. To register as a Mo Bro or Mo Sista, visit hk.movember.com, or connect with the local movement on Facebook and Twitter.