In an effort to make the world aware of men’s health, November is “Movember” to concerned individuals. Each Movember, men around the globe unite in their passion for masculine facial hair as a way to spread the word about men’s health issues, particularly prostate and testicular cancers. Once registered  on the official Movember website, gentlemen begin Movember 1st  clean shaven and grow their way to victory while collecting supportive donations for the Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG Foundation. The Movember program raised $126.2 million in 2011 with the help of Mo Bros and Mo Sistas.
In 2012, to help support Mo’s everywhere, the foundation published the Movember Mobile app to keep everyone informed and ensure the donation campaign is easier for all Mo’s. Come take a look at the iOS app inspiring a mustached revolution from a participant’s perspective. Maybe it will grow on you…
Movember Program Overview
The vision of Movember is ” to have an everlasting impact on the face of men’s health,” pun intended. First and foremost, the program is focused on Survivorship, to fund initiatives providing information and support for men who are affected by prostate and other male cancers. Survivorship is followed closely by prostate cancer research, which Movember hopes to catalyze through donations that fund specific research and clinical trials leading to improved prognostic and diagnostic tests and treatments.
Movember started with humble beginnings in Melbourne 2003 when the Movember rules and mission were determined. At first, only 30 Mo Bros and supportive Mo Sistas participated with the simple mission to bring awareness to men’s health issues. While the Mo numbers for 2012 are still gaining speed, last year the Mo count was 854,288.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rnb6NmypnIE
Movember Mobile
To help Mo’s make the most of their Movember, the simple but highly useful Movember Mobile app was released for iOS. Movember Mobile is free and keeps all important moustaching activities in one convenient place, your iPhone. Using a tabbed navigation system, users can plan their mustache style, view men’s health information, manage and update personal Mo Spaces, view and request donations, track personal Mo progress, and recruit new Mo Bros and Sistas.
Clearly, the most important sections of the app are the Mo Tracker and the donation request section. The Mo Tracker is a built in camera component that helps capture your progress to Mo-history. Using the settings system to remind you to take a mo-tograph each day, the app tracking section will compile the mo-gression in a short movie clip to share with the world on your Mo Space profile. The app is a one-stop-shop for all things Movember, especially if you are a registered member of the Mo community.
In the technology age, it is wildly exciting that iOS applications can not only keep us entertained, but also support a global initiative. The app is not the most glamorous, crisp, or best functioning, but it is all for a good cause. The Movember program prides itself on growing world-wide in less than a decade and small progress like the app help bring the community together. To continue spreading the Mo-word, social integration through the app allows Mo members to recruit other mustache supporters and even request donations through Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and email.
A League of Gentlemen, for Gentlemen
A graduate of Hampden-Sydney College, now one of two remaining all-male colleges in the United States and the 10th oldest college in the nation, I tend to take men’s health and facial hair very seriously. Although we are only 1,100 like-minded men on a beautiful sprawling rural campus, we strive to help spread awareness through the Movember program. Consequently, I am a member of The Hampden-Sydney College Moustache Growing League of Men 2012 and am helping raise funds for men’s diseases and cancers. A college dedicated to producing “good men and good citizens in an atmosphere of sound learning,” also encourages Hampden-Sydney Gentlemen to participate in philanthropic endeavors such as Movember.
iDownloadBlog, with its men-only writing team, takes men’s health seriously. To join iDB in its support of my Movember effort and the great manly Mo-world, please consider a small donation, even just a dollar. Donations to Movember and men’s health issues can be made through my public Mo Space, but if you want to research before considering your donation, a breakdown of the funding is available via the Where The Money Goes campaign page. I have already started the donating and encourage you to do the same! To Mo’s everywhere!
Join the Mo-versation below in the comments section. Have you ever heard of Movember? Are you already using the Movember Mobile app to track your progress? Meet me and my mo below.