Moustache Season Comes to a Close - Movember has Ninth Consecutive Record Breaking Year

Moustache Season has come to a close for 2011 and with that, the upper lips of over 850,000 participants across the world have left the wilds of Movember and returned to smoother ground. Each one proud in the knowledge that they have helped raise over $140 million globally for men’s health (Global breakdowns can be found at http://nz.movember.com/momoney/).

New Zealand has had a fantastic campaign and looks set to raise close to $1.4 Million generated by 13,141 Mo Bros and Sistas.

In New Zealand, funds go towards programs focused on prostate cancer and male depression; run through the Cancer Society of New Zealand, Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand and the Movember Foundation. Details can be found by visiting http://nz.movember.com/about/.

Movember’s Country Manager, Robert Dunne, is proud of the body of programs being funded by the Movember Foundation.

“The Movember community enables us to make a real difference to the state of men’s health and we’re not only proud, but humbled, by the incredible fundraising efforts of the Mo community,” says Robert.

“We’re in a position today where we are truly changing the face of men’s health with the programs we fund and the awareness being raised. This wouldn’t be possible without the continued support we receive and we’ve been blown away by the level of commitment shown by our Mo Bros and Mo Sistas during the 2011 campaign.”

Donations will continue to flow in until early 2012 when, for reporting purposes, Movember closes the financial year at the end of April. It will be at this point, that Movember will know exactly how much has been raised from the 2011 campaign and funds allocated to programs.

In the time up until this point, the Movember team works closely with its partners to determine and establish the programs that will be funded. “We have a collaborative relationship with our partners and together work on developing world-class research and survivorship strategies in line with our long-term strategic goals,” says Robert.

“Funds from the 2011 campaign will go towards existing programs in addition to a range of new initiatives. We look forward to continuing to share details with the community of their funds in action.”

Movember moustaches were first grown in 2003 and since that time Movember has grown to be a global movement, with official Mo campaigns running in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Ireland, the US, Canada, South Africa, Finland, the Netherlands, Spain and the Czech Republic.

In addition, Movember is aware of supportive Mo Bros and Mo Sistas dotted around the world; all of whom have played an important role in growing Movember into what it is today. Global growth has allowed Movember to build its Global Action Plan (GAP), an initiative of which the Foundation is incredibly proud.

“What’s exciting is that our unique global perspective gives us a helicopter view of prostate cancer programs happening around the world,” says Robert. “It allows us to help our partners through facilitating collaboration, removing duplication and sharing best practice; all of which help to accelerate outcomes in the field. This position and knowledge is what resulted in us formulating our Global Action Plan (GAP) last year; the first program to be funded directly by Movember and involving our partners from across the globe. We’re truly proud and excited about the potential this new collaborative approach has and we look forward to sharing further details with you in the New Year.”

Movember maybe over for 2011, but anyone wishing to be kept up to date with Mo news, should visit the news room at Movember.com or follow Movember on Facebook or Twitter.