Men, put the razors down–it’s “Movember,” also known as “No Shave November.” Sacred Heart University’s club rugby and hockey teams are participating in “No Shave November” to raise awareness for male cancer patients as well as raise money for the cause.
This worldwide movement is a month-long journey in which participants forgo shaving and grooming in order to evoke conversation and raise cancer awareness. The movement was started in 2009 by the eight children in the Hill family after their father had passed away from colon cancer in 2007.
The Sacred Heart club rugby team brought up the idea to each other to participate in “Movember,” and after agreeing, they challenged other club teams, anyone in Greek Life and
even females to join them. The club hockey team is the only team that has also taken up the challenge.
Club rugby was hit with a tragedy earlier in the year that shed a new light on giving back to the community. They hosted the suicide walk this year with sorority Alpha Delta Pi, during which they raised money for suicide prevention. Through this walk, the team knew they could keep contributing to movements that strive to make a positive impact on men’s health.
“The tragedy we as a team had gone through at the beginning of this year hit home and it wasn’t hard for anybody to say, let’s take this up and do something about it,” said senior club rugby player Aaron Such.
The money that they are raising this November will go towards prostate cancer, testicular cancer and suicide prevention.
To further encourage the movement, the club rugby team is hosting an ugly mustache contest to see who has the worst mustache by the end of the month. According to Sacred Heart Athletics, the club rugby team will be posting on their Instagram page, @shumensrugby, with different polls people can vote on about their mustaches.
“Not shaving is not too bad, but your face gets pretty itchy after a while and you don’t look your best, but it’s for a good cause,” said club hockey player Connor Leahy.
If anyone chooses to participate in the movement, they can add their name, organization or team, but if they just want to donate on behalf of a specific name, organization or team, they can do that as well.
With the recent move to online classes due to the university moving their alert status to red, many students have decided to move back home early, and athletics have been suspended. To spread the word about their efforts this month, the teams have been reliant on social media to raise donations.
On the “Movember” website, they have a live leaderboard that says which individuals have raised the most money. Companies like Vantage Financial and police departments are contributing to the movement.
“‘Movember’ is a great time to come together as a team for a great cause. It’s actually a lot of fun being able to grow a mustache to raise money that will help others,” said Leahy. “Men’s health is sometimes overlooked, so I am very happy to be a part of a fundraiser that will bring awareness to a very important cause.”
Not shaving for a full month can be uncomfortable for some, but to club rugby player Liam Casey, it’s much more than that.
Casey expressed that “Movember” to him is a time to raise awareness for men’s mental health and a time to help younger men understand the importance of coming together, even if it’s just for growing a mustache.
If you would like to donate on behalf of the club rugby or hockey team, visit movember.com and search their name under the donate tab, located in the top right corner.
