Every year in November, AppLift gets a revamp as our Mo Bros (and Mo Sistas!) join the Movember initiative. If you have been living under a rock, Movember is an annual charity event run by the Movember Foundation to raise awareness of men’s health issues. As a tradition of Movember, men are encouraged to grow moustaches with a goal to “change the face of men’s health.”
Since 2004, the Movember Foundation has been urging men every November to “grow a mo, save a bro”. The moustache, however big or small, is more than just that! By encouraging men to participate in large numbers, the moustache is a reminder of the importance of men’s health.
For the last three years, AppLift is proud to join hands to support the initiative. And while our approach is data-driven app marketing, for November, we like to call it Mo-driven app marketing because of the sheer enthusiasm of our colleagues to join this side of AppLift’s CSR activities.
I personally got my first exposure to Movember in Ireland, where I lived and worked for 3 years and I was impressed by how many people got involved. This was in 2009.
I needed 2 years of “mo’ exposure” to finally join the “mo’vement” in 2011 and have been doing it ever since, some years raising a respectable amount of over 1.000 EUR and some years where I barely managed to hit 100 EUR.
But what I realized along the years is that it’s not really about the donations (they are needed and welcomed, of course!) but about the fun part of growing the Mo’ (trust me, almost every guy dreams of this) with fellow Mo’ Bro’s. Especially those moments when you see a random stranger on the street that seems uncomfortably proud about his mo’ and exchanging that look of: “oh, you too? Cool!”
And the other rewarding part is to talk about this taboo topic which is men’s health, especially men’s mental health. I have personally been exposed to too many cases of mental illness from young men who have left the world way too early. It is important to not shy away from this delicate topic and help those in need. If wearing a moustache just makes that step a little bit easier and socially acceptable, then it is already worth it in my opinion.
I am very proud that AppLift has been supportive of Movember for the last 3 years and that we have also many Mo’ Sistas joining the movement as well. It is equally important for companies to be aware of these types of issues, especially in high-stress/fast-paced environments such as start-ups, where the ups and down often remind me of a roller coaster ride.
I’ll keep on mo’ing for as long as I can and will spread the word not only about men’s health but any health related topic that seems to be brushed off too easily. There are many other amazing movements such as Movember to follow and support, the most important thing is not to turn a blind eye to those close to us and that seem to be in need of help.
Thank you for all the generous donations so far! To my fellow bro’s and sista’s — You Rock! Keep up the good work!
Let’s get Mo-ving! Learn more about our team and donate here.