Movember Grows Strong Support
The 12 Division team hopes more Service members take part in Movember by fundraising as well as raising awareness.
They raised $13,602, which was a few hundred dollars more than the Divisional Policing Support Unitteamduring last year's campaign.
The Movember challenge is to grow a moustache during the month of November to spark conversations and raise funds for men’s health initiatives. In Canada, the three main health issues being focused on are prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health.
As Movember begins again on November 1, the Toronto Police Association is once again going to top up the top Toronto Police Service fundraising team's total with an additional $10,000.
Detective Scott Bradbury, who is a proud member of Team Follicle Force, said he got involved in the Movember campaign due to a family history of prostate cancer as well the campaign being such a great initiative for men’s health.
“The Movember campaign is such a great initiative for men to become aware of their own health issues and to drive guys to get to doctors and talk about problems they don’t normally talk about,” said Bradbury, who notes he'd be happy to see another team outgrow their fundraising benchmark as well as spread the word.
Men’s health affects everybody and growing a moustache makes having conversations about health easier, finds Bradbury, which is why he participates in the campaign.
“There is not anybody I’ve spoken to who hasn’t been affected by or touched by one the three main issues Movember supports – mental health, testicular cancer and prostate cancer,” said Bradbury.
Having Service members participate in Movember is something that will inspire people to step up and make a difference, according to Pete Bombaci, the country director for Movember Canada.
“Because of the moustaches police members are growing, they are creating conversations… and lending their names to changing the face of men’s health,” said Bombaci. He added that such conversations will change attitudes, which will eventually lead to a change in action. This action is described by Bombaci as getting men to reach out for support when they need it but to also make sure they receive this support.
While Team Follicle Force was the winning team within the TPS last year, Canadians should be proud to know Canada was the top fundraising country in the world, raising almost $34 million in 2013.
Overall, police service members in Canada raised almost $250,000 in 2013 with the Service members alone raising $61,785.
This year TPA president Mike McCormack is not only encouraging Service members to participate in fundraising and moustache-growing but also to be a part of the discussion around men’s health.
“This is a real important issue, because we deal with these issues each and every day, we see our membership and we see what’s going on, we see what’s happening around health, stress around policing, whether your uniform or civilian,” said McCormack.
Teams or individuals can sign up via ca.movember.com
