Since the Vietnam War era, the U.S. Air Force members have participated in Mustache March. A fun, bonding event in which Airmen are allowed to grow moustaches during the month of March.
In 1999, a group of young Australian shabab had the idea of growing moustaches for charity in November and calling it "Movember". Started with 80 men from Adelaide, the group soon became a domestic hit.
In 2004, a completely separate group of dudes in Melbourne organised an event where 30 men would grow a moustache for 30 days in order to raise awareness for prostate cancer and male depression. The group eventually grew into the Movember Foundation charity and has since raised $174-million worldwide and is the one we all know and love.
These 3 unrelated tales make it clear that sometimes més que una Barba - more than a beard. For a while now, beards and moustaches have gained prominence as agents of social causes and awareness campaigns and it’s brilliant!
Firstly, the idea of growing out your facial hair, raising awareness, and funding research to combat male-related issues is inspiring, engaging, and accessible. And secondly, the entire thing is one of the most dude-perfect solutions ever - do good by doing pretty much nothing...pure genius!
More than the money and publicity, perhaps the most important product of beard and charity crossover events is the information publicized and normalization of otherwise taboo male topics. Where society dictates that boys don’t cry and a man must be the strong, silent type, these events normalize important subject matter. They provide an empathetic, open forum that allows guys to be vulnerable and human.
There’s Beards of Hope, a 3 month beard extravaganza between June and August, there’s Septembeard, we’ve covered Movember, there’s also Decembeard. Basically, there is now a beard/moustache charity event every month so make sure you get involved!
If you have a cause in mind that requires representation, either reach out to existing organizations or start your own! It doesn’t have to be massive, it can just be you and a couple of friends. Post daily on social media and let people know what’s up and they may begin participating voluntarily. Also, make sure to tell us what you’re doing and we’ll play our part in the cause.