The McMaster men’s baseball and rugby team lead the way in fundraising for men’s health issues
Raising money for men’s health is an annual November initiative for athletes at McMaster University. As the end of this year's Movember campaign nears, Marauder sports teams have quietly raised over $25,000.
The McMaster men’s baseball team and men’s rugby team spearheaded this year’s fundraising efforts, with over $11,900 and $9600 in donations respectively. In addition, the McMaster men’s volleyball team and wrestling teams fundraised over $3600 and $1100 each. Other participating teams include the McMaster rowing team, swimming team and men’s soccer team.
The McMaster teams primarily fundraise through the Movember campaign website. Established in 2003, the international campaign looks to allocate resources to various areas of men’s health such as mental health, testicular cancer and prostate cancer. Over $19 million was donated to men’s health projects in Canada just last year.
Though growing a mustache and fundraising for Movember is a tradition amongst McMaster sports teams, the movement has not lost its meaning to repeat participants such as Marco Dilaudo, Maclean Van Raay, Josh Kalmain and Aiden Muldoon.
“We just want to give back to the community and continue to support those that have been supportive to us as athletes, especially here at McMaster and abroad, while also paying respect to those that are fighting everyday to continue – whether that’s against cancer or mental health,” explained Marco Dilaudo, the first baseman for the McMaster men’s baseball team.
We just want to give back to the community and continue to support those that have been supportive to us as athletes, especially here at McMaster and abroad, while also paying respect to those that are fighting everyday to continue – whether that’s against cancer or mental health.
Marco Dilaudo, the first baseman for the McMaster men’s baseball team
In addition to leading the baseball team’s fundraising efforts with over $2,000 raised individually, Dilaudo plans to bike 300 kilometres over the month of November – an opportunity for Dilaudo to embrace a challenge and support others that are battling illnesses in their day-to-day lives.
“Everyone struggles with mental health in some way. Being an athlete, it becomes really stressful trying to balance school and athletics. The mental health part of it definitely plays a factor [wanting to raise money] as well,” said Maclean Van Raay, third year student and middle infielder for the McMaster men’s baseball team.
For some McMaster athletes, raising money and awareness is especially important because of personal experiences with loved ones. Participating for his fifth in a row, Aiden Muldoon became particularly connected to the cause after experiencing the loss of his father to cancer in 2021.
“It’s nice to know that there’s a movement for something that’s affected me so dearly [and] that it’s a movement that we can progress towards as a team. I know guys are thinking about other [teammates] that have also lost people to different illnesses. When we’re raising money, it’s good to know that it’s with a direction,” explained Muldoon, a fullback for the McMaster men’s rugby team.
It’s nice to know that there’s a movement for something that’s affected me so dearly [and] that it’s a movement that we can progress towards as a team. I know guys are thinking about other [teammates] that have also lost people to different illnesses. When we’re raising money, it’s good to know that it’s with a direction.
Aiden Muldoon, a fullback for the McMaster men’s rugby team
As club captain for the McMaster men’s rugby, Muldoon organizes various fundraising events with other members of the team. The rugby team held a Touch 7s Rugby Tournament that took place earlier this month where all profits from the event were donated to Movember. In the past, the team has also welcomed guest speakers or held raffles to raise money.
“For us, as much as it is a serious issue, we do like to make fun of each other’s mustaches a little bit . . . It’s another way to encourage one another to not only support the cause but also support each other in raising money for a good cause,” said Kalmin, a third year student and pitcher for the baseball team.
Along with raising awareness and fundraising, Movember is a chance for McMaster teams to bond and boost team morale. The competitive aspect that McMaster athletes bring into sport also translates into friendly competition to raise the most money.
To learn more about the Movember movement, visit their website. To donate or keep up with the fundraising teams, visit their Instagram pages or link here.
By: Adriana Skaljin
For the past five years, the McMaster men’s rugby team has been running their own Movember campaign, raising money for men’s health initiatives. Last year, the team collectively raised around $6,100, motivating them to increase their goal for 2018 to $7,000.
The Movember Foundation is the leading charity that focuses on men’s health. They focus on issues such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health and suicide prevention. This initiative was started in 2003 and has funded more than 1,200 men’s health projects worldwide.
[spacer height="20px"]Callum MacLeay, a fifth-year kinesiology student, is leading this year’s Movember campaign. As the club captain on the rugby leadership team, it was his responsibility to take over the Movember initiative, since the club captain is involved with coordinating any off-field fundraising and team bonding. MacLeay has raised over $1,400 since 2015 and has set a personal goal of $1,000 for this year.
“Seeing as last year’s goal was $6,000 and this year’s is $7,000, it would be awesome to reach the realm of raising $10,000,” said MacLeay.
MacLeay has been participating in Movember for four years now and was inspired by the fact that his grandfather had prostate cancer.
“[This] made [Movember] something easy to engage with because it was something that I personally connected to,” said MacLeay.
Seeing as Movember raises money for men’s health, it is something that connects and affects everyone on the men’s rugby team. This creates a sense of motivation towards making a difference in this area of charitable work.
“[Movember] has ranged to a new focus on mental health, which is a big push that made us want go support [this initiative],” MacLeay explained.
When they first started the campaign, they had around 20 players participating; they now have around 50. This increase in participants shows an increase in support, thus bringing awareness to this initiative’s importance.
“On the field, we come together to achieve a common goal, but to have the camaraderie that comes with a community sense is great, and it is nice to see the newer players join [in helping with Movember],” said MacLeay. “The more you bring awareness, the more people want to get involved. This is due to a sense of empowerment.”
What comes with this sense of empowerment is the understanding that no one is alone and that we are all going through things. With focuses on issues such as mental health, we can remove stigmas and transition into a world that disallows people from suffering in silence.
Not only has the men’s rugby team worked towards removing stigmas and promoting men’s health, but they have banded together with other Marauders as well.
“Men’s volleyball, basketball, baseball, and football have joined us in our Movember initiative here at McMaster,” said MacLeay.
“Movember has been a meaningful experience for me since we get to engage with coaches, alumni, and student field therapists in the fundraising, so it [goes beyond] the players. Having everyone come together on something that is bigger than rugby is important, and I think that it helps build camaraderie both on and off of the field.”
On Nov. 29 and 30, the men’s rugby team will be setting up an information table in the David Braley Athletic Centre on campus. They will be selling t-shirts, wrist bands and will be holding a raffle as well. All proceeds will go towards their Movember campaign.
It is without a doubt that the amazing efforts of the McMaster men’s rugby team are instrumental in changing the ways in which we view men’s health, while sparking a conversation around mental health. Change is possible, with some Marauder spirit, camaraderie and a sense of empowerment.
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Poorly maintained and nausea-inducing facial hair is a tragedy for a large amount of people. McMaster, while not as bad as some universities, e.g., Western, is a common ground for students to attempt to express themselves through the inability to actually grow a good looking mustache. 11 months of the year, this is terrible.
November is the singular month where these previously appalling acts of hair have become tolerated and encouraged for the greater good. With the rising relevance of “Movember” on a global and McMaster scale and the work involved with raising awareness and donating to prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health research, even the smallest mustaches can become fashion statements for advocacy.
Though Movember is fairly common knowledge at this point, especially compared to its grassroots beginnings back in 2003, it remains an important contribution towards these areas of research. While a large portion of people will participate in spreading awareness, a more significant amount of effort continues to be placed by the MSU on the fundraising aspect of the month. The correct decision to continue to encourage students to do more towards relevant causes is commendable.
While there are a large amount of charities and causes on campus, the barrier to entry for Movember remains extremely low — not shaving is easy to do. It would be easy to ignore the issue and let the people do as they please from an MSU standpoint as it has enough traction and popularity as is. The adjustment from just another cause to a large-scale event, however, demonstrates the ability of student leaders to recognize and advocate for popular issues its population deems important. This gives a large amount of hope to other campus causes to reach the level of Movember.
This shift most likely began in 2014. McMaster received $200,000 over a two-year term from the Movember Discovery Grant, which allowed two researchers, Gurmit Singh and Khalid Al-Nedawi, to further research depression relating to prostate cancer and hormone therapy resistance. It was also during this year that the transfer of promotion responsibilities began to shift from the relatively small “McMO’sters” campaign that began in 2012 to the substantially larger MSU Campus Events banner.
While spreading awareness and general accessibility, mainly in encouraging women to contribute in ways that do not involve facial hair growth, has been a substantial part of Movember’s growth, the MSU have shifted substantially since that period in time towards actually raising funds.
The number of events has rapidly increased. This year includes bake sales, a comedy night, a gamers night, an open mic night and five dates slotted for an information table in MUSC. These, in addition to custom made t-shirts specifically for Movember at McMaster, add a substantial amount of legitimacy and fundraising to the cause.
While I will also be participating in the growing of a hilariously bad mustache, this is the first year since high school that the desire to actually donate to the cause has been apparent. Observing student leaders put effort towards common causes and having this effort so apparent in the culture of the campus is incredibly encouraging for the participation in more global issues through campus initiatives.
Two McMaster researchers have been honoured with the Movember Discovery Grant which will provide each researcher with $200,000 over a two-year term. The grant, which Prostate Cancer Canada awarded to 26 researchers this year, will go towards two projects.
The first will fund research on cancer-induced depression by Gurmit Singh, professor in pathology and molecular medicine. Another has been awarded to Khalid Al-Nedawi, assistant professor of medicine, for a study investigating hormone therapy resistance.
Singh’s research on how prostate cancer can cause depression uses an animal model, the first of its kind in Canada. The study will eventually move to clinical trials once the mechanism that causes depression in those patients is understood through animal research.
The end goal of the research is to alleviate depression in cancer patients, which Singh believes is caused not by psycho-social factors, but by biological ones.
“We decided to look at the quality of life of prostate cancer patients. Normally what happens is over time a lot of prostate cancer patients get depressed,” said Singh.
The research team discovered that many tumour cells produce a neurotransmitter called glutamate when they are under oxidative stress. In other studies, glutamate has been linked to depression, and is now theorized to be a main cause of depression in prostate cancer patients.
“This would be stopping depression at the tumour site rather than in the brain,” said Singh.
Singh began his work in cancer research when he first joined the board of governors for the Canadian Best Cancer Foundation.
“When I joined this board on the day of run for the cure I was with some survivors and they told me that it’s great they they’re living longer, but they are in so much pain that they’d rather die,” said Singh.
After that experience, Singh began studying pain in breast cancer patients with the goal to improve quality of life for those with cancer. This has led to his new project that will provide a higher quality of life for prostate cancer patients by alleviating depression caused by prostate cancer.
The project, which is now underway, is in the early stages.
“We are hoping within two years we will have an animal model for depression,” said Singh. “Once we have that then we will be screening for drugs that block the release of glutamate.”
“At the end of the day, depression is not caused by one factor – it is multi-factorial. If we can control the biology, and the psychologists can control the social aspects, we may have a better quality of life for patients.”
Amanda Watkins
LifeStyle Editor
For most of the year, I’m pretty content with the fact that I can’t grow facial hair.
And then November rolls around.
Movember. It’s a term we’ve all come to know and anticipate as it marks the one time of year when a bearded man stands for personal health and awareness.
With a small-scale start in 2003, a group of “Mo Bros” in Melbourne, Australia decided to grow out their facial hair to spread the word about men’s health. Now coined as Movember, a clever portmanteau of Moustache and November, what was once a small Aussie event is now an international campaign devoted to raising funds and awareness for prostate cancer research.
In 2012, the campaign officially included 29 participating countries, with over one million registered participants through their online charitable network.
The campaign is widely popular across the Hamilton and McMaster communities especially with the “McMO’sters” network that has been active and running for the last two years. Participating students are encouraged to officially register online and join the pre-existing McMaster team.
Now let’s get back to me growing facial hair.
As much as the event directly caters to the abilities of men on campus, female students are also encouraged to join in on the fun by raising money on behalf of a specific person or team taking part in the facial hair festivities.
And although taking part in Movember as a woman is equally as beneficial to the cause, it just isn’t as fun.
There are several campaigns that revolve around female-oriented causes, but none seem to have the gender pride pull that Movember offers to its gentleman participants. Although worthy commitments and campaigns, none seem to offer the same overt publicity and gimmicky excitement that bring together men during Movember.
I appreciate the work that all charitable organizations put forward with their campaigns, but wearing a somewhat sexualized “I love boobies” bracelet just isn’t the same as bonding with my “Mo Bros” over a natural facial buy cheap generic viagra accessory.
I’m a little jealous that men have the opportunity to so openly show something that unites their gender, while women have to hide any explicit features that define their femininity.
In an attempt to find a campaign that could have the same thrilling and hairy effects of Movember, Armpits for August was started up in the UK as a way to raise money and awareness for Polycystic Ovary Syndrome research. Similarly, the “No Shave November” idea promotes similar trends for women while supporting a variety of charities. Although both of these events were built on the same principle as Movember, the event isn’t as well received or popular due to the stigma around female body hair.
Although Movember supports a great cause and has earned a well-deserved amount of support and praise, I really wish there was a way for women to support their gender in a fun and inclusive way.
This November, I’ll sport the endearing title of a “Mo Sista” to support those growing for the cause. And to be honest, I will probably be unknowingly taking part in No Shave November. Girls may not be having as much fun, but at least we’re growing in the right direction.
By: Stephen Clare
Dear Movember Participants,
We’re reaching the end of that special time of year when us men can finally let the hairy caterpillars roam free on our upper lips. Some have managed to support a thriving colony of facial fungi, while others are stuck with peach fuzz. That’s the great thing about Movember, though, isn’t it? It doesn’t matter whether you’re displaying an Amazonian jungle or Saharan wasteland - everybody gets in on the fun.
That’s what Movember is all about. The inclusivity. Men (and occasionally women) united in their pursuit of that most manly of goals: a luxurious, thick moustache.
Wait. That’s not right at all. Isn’t there something more to this month?
We all love a good moustache, but in your pursuit of perfect pilosity, you’ve lost sight of Movember’s true purpose: raising money for prostate cancer research.
Be honest. How many people do you know enjoying a lip-warmer this month? Many. Now how many of those have donated to the cause? I’ll bet my peach fuzz that the answer is, for most of us, none.
But here comes the inevitable cry of protest: “I’m raising awareness,” you declare smugly.
Nonsense, I reply. What’s the point of raising awareness? It’s only to hopefully convince people to donate, and you’ve failed in that respect. Where are the Movember charity auctions? The Movember bottle drives? Unfortunately you’d rather sit at home and trim your mo.
Think of other fundraising efforts: the Terry Fox Run and Relay for Life, for example. These events get people involved and active while never losing sight of their commendable goals. Movember, at least here on campus, doesn’t have that. Movember’s become a time for dudes to razz each other about the state of their mo and make jokes about how cool Ron Swanson is. It’s not about the cancer research.
Enough is enough. Movember’s a huge sensation, and everybody loves it. You should be using this opportunity to do some good, not just demonstrate the sheen of your moustache. I think this problem is exemplified by the popularity of spin-off traditions like No-Shave November, which is both totally separate from Movember and totally separate from any kind of philanthropic ambitions. It never had a purpose; it was just an excuse for lazy college kids to look scruffy for a month.
Look, I realize that not everything you do has to have some kind of selfless, glorious goal. But Movember started out as a charity and has devolved into an excuse to ironically sport a Fu Manchu for a month. That sucks. That’s wrong. This is a great opportunity to run a month-long fundraiser for an excellent cause, and have fun while doing it. Make it happen.
Go to ca.movember.com/donate to show you care.
Put your money where your moustache is. Less mo, more dough.
Yours,
Mustachioed
By: Arnav Agarwal
Dear Unshaven Faces,
I know what you’re thinking; they just don’t seem to understand. You’re walking to the Health Science Library, to DeGroote School of Business or to the Student Centre, and can’t help but notices clean-shaven faces gazing at you as they walk by, their eyes peeled at the scruff sprouting about your face as you walk a little further. How easy it must be to rock a moustache, they probably think. Overhyped, right?
Wrong. The challenges that come up with the no-shave “Movember” are easy to play down when you’re not growing the peach fuzz all over your visage. But have no fear, comrades. If you’re in quite the tangle dealing with your mid-November crisis, you’re not alone.
Consider the following. The average student shaves twice a week or so. November covers more than four entire weeks. Tell the next clean-shaven face to multiply the amount of facial hair that starts getting on their nerves every three to four days by at least eight. If you’re feeling scruffy, you’re certainly on the right track to celebrating the festivities of the month. Throw in the moans and groans as a thickening moustache starts getting prickly on the inexperienced, and you’re definitely encountering the typical Movember-stricken experience.
Most students can attest to the fact that the highlight of their day is taking a break from their textbooks for a little social time or to grab a meal. Universities have been smart on catching on as well; they’ve packed themselves with pleasure foods to quench the hunger pangs while bringing in stacks upon stacks in revenue. The majority of Movember endorsers aren’t typically heavy moustache growers, but bushy hair growth doesn’t make eating very easy. Now, we have to deal with both the high prices and the trouble of ensuring we aren’t feeding our moustaches while we’re at it. What’s more, some would argue the contrary: what could possibly be a better storage place for those late-night emergencies when hunger pangs really kick in? Yes, I went there.
So, what should you keep in mind this month? A few things. First: you’ve embarked on a challenging journey, so be proud of it. Moustaches and facial fuzz are not easy feats, and don’t let clean-shaven faces convince you otherwise. Second: the Movember experience isn’t easy, but it’s definitely rewarding. Convince them into donating if you’re raising money for prostate cancer awareness, male mental health initiatives or another cause, or coerce them into buying you a free meal to help you through that mid-November crisis. And third: take the next stare you get as an opportunity to twitch your moustache and let the clean-shaved faces know they’re being watched from behind those curtains of hair too.
Yours Truly,
Bearded and Proud
