Sunday, April 27, 2025

It’s likely there are more clean upper lips Monday than last week. Movember 2013 has officially wrapped up. And while the funds are still being collected, Canada is once again the leading fundraising nation taking part in this global campaign. They are grown with pride and a spirit of fun. But behind those fashionable moustaches of November lies a serious message. Men need to be mindful and open about their health. Maria Hayes reports.

In Movember Canada’s downtown Toronto headquarters, Director Peter Bombaci is celebrating campaign 2013. The haul so far, 28-million dollars with more coming in over the next few weeks. With operating costs claiming roughly 8.6-cents on the dollar, Movember is funding a lot of health care.

Peter: “Our number one priority is about starting those conversations. We need men to start to open up about their health and open up and admit that we’re not invincible. We do get ill. We do have sickness. If we can change people’s attitude first then we can change their actions. We invest our funds thru Prostate Cancer Canada who is the leader in that space, in the prostate cancer space in Canada. For men’s mental health we invest in the Canadian men’s health network which is an advisory panel that helps direct how we invest the funds. All funds that are invested are invested at an arms length from the campaign itself.”

Movember is relatively new in Canada. Here only 7-years. But involvement is constantly growing. This year, over 172-thousand participants registered.

Peter: “Continually every year, we see more mo bro’s get engaged, different mo bro’s get engaged. And what I think we saw this year more than anything was people engaged to a new level.”

Like these 3 childhood friends from Vancouver. They wanted to embark on a bucket list experience. And had been supporters of the Movember movement.

Jordan Gildersleeve of MorideCanada.ca: “Ben’s dad is a testicular cancer survivor. Kevin’s grandfather passed away from a number of cancers and my father and grandfather are currently battling with colon cancer.”

The trio just finished a 43-day cycling trip across Canada and raised 150-thousand dollars for the campaign.

“There were some days when it felt like it was a really long way a way. The last week people really just started to fall behind and support us and share us with their friends and family.”

And of the countless school campaigns, Bombaci sees the mo bro’s and sistas of the future who hopefully will have those conversations: “My message to everyone of the classes that I speak to is hey I want you to go home tonight. I want you to talk to your dad and your mom and make sure you’re asking them have they been to the doctor lately. Cuz I think it’s pretty tough to say no to a son or a daughter when they’re talking about your health.”

Donations are still being accepted at www.movember.com. You can also visit the website for more information about programs funded.