NMS couldn’t be prouder of Patrick for his leadership and the rest of our guys for their big hearts and their oh, so fine facial follicles. Nearly 1 out of every 2 men in the world will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives — and 1 in 6 will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. The Movember Project not only represents an important cause, but one that hits close to home for my family. This summer, my father-in-law, Big P — who I couldn’t love more and who is the most important male figure in my life, was diagnosed with Stage 4 prostate cancer. He was in the hospital in Memphis for nearly two weeks and things looked bleak, but he’s one helluva fighter and he’s not only battling back, but he’s back to work and determined to beat this thing. And, if you knew him – you’d never bet against him. So if you are kind enough, we’re asking for not only your prayers, but also your tweets. Yes, that’s right – your tweets. Awareness is such a huge part of beating prostate cancer because if doctors can catch it early, they have a decent shot of beating it back.
So if you work in social media and/or are on Twitter, what can you do? We aren’t asking you to find a cure for this horrible disease (though that would be helpful), but we do know that our friends and Tweeps know how to really raise awareness! To that end, I’m excited to announce a Twitter drive, in which NMS will donate $1, up to $25,000, to Movember and the Prostate Cancer Foundation for all Tweets that include the hashtag #NMSMovember. So run up the score on us! Help us raise awareness of prostate cancer and help us save some lives!
We love you, Big P!
Pete
Mustaches have long been associated with the pillars of awesomeness. Art (Dali), Science (Einstein), Academia (Nietzsche), Private Investigation (Magnum), to name a few.
In the past few years, mustache’s have been garnering attention for awesomeness for something new, charitable causes. Movember, combining the slang term for mustache “Mo” and the month of November, is an annual, month-long initiative that raises funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and other cancers that effect men. The movement began in Australia in 2003 and now has more than one million participants in over 15 countries. In the U.S. specifically, proceeds benefit the Prostate Cancer Foundation and Livestrong.
Social media is the principle driver of the movement, as the website has full social media integration to help Mo-Bros get the word out. After a quick glance at online mentions of Movember, there have been over 400,000 mentions of Movember on blogs, Facebook and Twitter in just two short weeks.
I am in my fourth year participating in Movember, with me and my teams' funds and the quality of my mustache growing each year (I really think my face is conditioning to the time of year). My Movember team includes NMS team members Tyler Hoffberger, JP Freire and Ryan Nolan, and the team keeps growing in size each year. To check out my Movember page and donate to this great cause, click here.
As part of their participation in WOMMA, NMS is also sponsoring a Movember Twitter drive. For every tweet that includes #NMSMovember, NMS will donate $1 to Movember and the Prostate Cancer Foundation.