Ben Rosenbaum from St. Anne’s, in charge of the competition, said, “So far every college except Oriel have signed up a team online. Lincoln won a very close contest last year and it’ll be great to see if they can hold onto their Mo crown.
“Last year over 300 people at Oxford University took part and we raised over £18,500 making us the top fundraising university in the UK by a long way. This year we’re hoping that over 500 people will sign up and we’re trying to raise £30,000.”
He added, “I am a huge supporter of the charity and has high hopes for Oxford this year: Movember is a fantastic initiative… It’s so easy for people to get involved, and is one of the easiest things anyone could do for charity.”
The Mo’ Rep for New College, Dhruv Jayanth, said, “It has really taken off, and is a great opportunity for a few pre-pubescent looking college members to give facial hair a go!”
Lucas Shelemy of St. Catz commented, “I’m really excited for what’s to come in the next month. It’s great to see fellow mo-growers on the street and get the little nod of humiliated acceptance, and also it’s a fantastic way to fundraise and help a great cause fighting men’s testicular and prostate cancer.”
However, Movember is not just for men. Women too can become ‘Mo Sistas’ either by drawing on the occasional moustache, growing body hair or simply just supporting and encouraging their ‘Mo Bros’.
In fact, St. Anne’s JCR recently passed a motion to make the JCR president, Christina Toenshoff, and Charities Rep, Abby Whiteley, wear beards to all formal events throughout ‘Movember’.
Christina commented, “I think it’s a really good idea that the charities’ rep and I – both of us unable to grow a real moustache – will raise awareness by wearing fake facial hair. The beard is a bit annoying when you try to talk, but at least they let me put it down when the food gets served at formal halls.”
“I really don’t mind looking a bit weird if that contributes to charity and as a Mo Sista of our college team, I’m happy to support the guys by adapting to their looks.”
For the fourth year running, Byron Hamburgers is offering every ‘Mo Bro’ and ‘Mo Sista’ who raises at least £25 for the charity a free burger or salad every day from the 8th to the 17th, between 3-6pm. These burgers normally cost about £8 which amounts to almost £80 worth of burgers overall.
‘Movember’ is a global charity which raises funds and awareness for testicular and prostate cancer as well as men’s mental health charities. The charity challenges men to grow a moustache for the 30-days of November. In becoming a ‘Mo Bro’ they not only raise awareness of the cause but also raise funds through sponsorship.
