Movember has two parts

As November moves along, you may notice guys walking around with new or additional facial hair. Don’t be alarmed; they are likely participating in No-Shave November.

No-Shave November, or Movember, is an effort by men to grow out their facial hair during November to promote awareness about prostate and testicular cancer. They are allowed to trim their scruff, but need to maintain some type of facial hair.

According to ABC News 28,000 people died from prostate cancer in 2014 and 38,000 people died of testicular cancer during the same period.

But there’s more to Movember than just growing hair.

Men who participate are supposed to donate money they would spend on shaving products to the nonprofit organization “No-Shave.org.” But it seems that many men don’t.

According to thejambar.com, over $126.3 million was raised last year. Seems like a lot, right?  

But this is money that was raised over the ENTIRE WORLD. The article stated that 854,288 men in more than 15 countries participated in Movember to raise that amount.

The sad part? The United States has lagged behind in fundraising collecting only $90,000 in 2013, according to an article in Business Insider.

But maybe we’re catching on because it seems  we’re doing better this year. As of last Friday “No-Shave.org” has raised $895,788 with donations from not only individuals but also through companies and other organizations across the country.

However it still seems that the percentage of money raised compared to the number of participants is still quite low. Why is this?

Is it because men and groups who participate aren’t donating as much, the cost of shaving isn’t as much as people make it out to be or is it because people are just growing facial and not even donating at all?

It seems that No-Shave November has turned into another empty cause that people are participating in to show that they are good, yet perhaps not following through with the donation part. It’s like wearing a ribbon for a cause, but never donating to it or helping those in need.

People are turning something that is meant to help others and potentially save lives  into a reason not to shave in November.

Instead of not shaving just because it’s November, how about you donate your time or money to actually help. If you do, maybe then we can be that much closer to a world that will be cancer free.

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