Movember: Five Men’s Charities To Support
Movember has been huge in terms of raising awareness about men’s mental and physical health and the conversations we can have around this.
It is an annual campaign that takes place in November. The main aim of Movember is to simply grow a moustache to raise awareness for great causes.
Along the way, while raising awareness for men’s health, people often raise money for charities.
With a focus on men’s mental health, Movember helps causes related to prostate cancer, testicular cancer and men’s suicide.
Although people raise money for a wide range of charities and causes related to men’s health.
The Movember Foundation
The Movember Foundation has worked to raise awareness about men’s mental health and has been significant in getting people talking in recent years.
It broadened conversations as people began to speak with more confidence about mental health and difficult issues.
Because of its notable campaign (growing a physical moustache) it has been a movement that has got people talking and joining in fundraising in a fun, engaging way.
The November campaign has also been something that had an international reach, with people from many countries taking part.
Some of its key projects have included campaigns about black men and their heightened risk of prostate cancer, mental health support for veterans and funding community projects.
Mind
Mind is a prominent mental health charity in the UK.
It works to help people of all ages with their mental health across the UK and has strived to widen the conversation about the topic.
Mind has specially tailored programmes and resources for men’s mental health. In a report, Mind found that men are now almost 3 times more likely to see a therapist if they’re worried, compared to 2009.
It has led the way in changing attitudes around mental health and has led successful campaigns to the Government to change policy. It lobbied the Government for changes so that fewer people with long-term mental health problems will have to go through unnecessary benefits reassessments.
Samaritans
Samaritans is a charity that provides emotional support to people in distress.
Like CALM and Mind, it has a free helpline for people to contact if they need support.
As well as this, there are online support options for men. A survey, carried out by Samaritans found that there ‘is still a stigma around men seeking help when they are struggling to cope’.
The charity added: “The findings were released as Samaritans volunteers across Ireland to mark ‘Talk To Us’ on 24/7 to highlight that they are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“The charity is urging men, who are most at risk of suicide, to seek help and reach out when they are struggling to cope by contacting Samaritans 24/7 on freephone 116 123, text 087 260 9090 or email jo@samaritans.ie.”
It also published a handbook with practical advice on how wellbeing initiatives can appeal to men who may be going through tough times before they reach the point of crisis.
CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably)
CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) is a major charity in the UK that works to end suicide.
Through thought-provoking campaigns, it has helped to widen the conversation around suicide and mental health.
The charity works to support people with advice on their website and has a helpline that is open 365 days a year for people in need.
According to CALM, there are 200,000 suicide attempts every year. Through their helpline, the charity said it receives 28,000 calls every month.
In 2022 the charity said 2.5 million minutes were spent trying to save people from suicide, or from feeling suicidal.
Men’s Health Forum
The Men’s Health Forum has a clear mission of trying to improve the health of men and boys.
It carries out research, raises awareness and works to advocate for men’s health.
As well as this, it provides practical advice for those who may need it. This is done though its:
- ‘Man Manuals’ (in partnership with Haynes)
- Website
- Workplace Comedy events
- Workplace Toolbox talks
It has run several successful campaigns in the past, including Mental Health Week and Time for your Man.
Donate or fundraise to support men’s mental health
Movember is a fantastic opportunity to raise funds for charity and encourage a conversation about men’s mental health.
It can be one of the fantastic charities we’ve mentioned or it could be for a cause that is important to you.
You can take action by joining in this year’s Movember challenge or by donating to someone you know who is raising funds.
It is a chance to do some collective fundraising as you may spot other friends growing a moustache for the first time in aid of charity like you.
Most importantly, Movember is a time of the year when you can see the scale of how many people want to help.