Movember, also known as the month of November, is when brave and selfless men around the globe grow a moustache, in order to raise awareness and money for men’s health.
Having started in 2003, Movember was the brainchild of two friends from Australia. The duo (consisting of Travis Garone and Luke Slattery), humorlessly wanted to bring back in fashion the moustache, further hoping to convince their friends to grow one. While being taken aback and inspired by one of their friends’ mothers who was at the time fundraising for breast cancer. The two decided to associate the moustache with the pink ribbon, but for men, bringing about Movember, in the process.
To support Movember, we have incorporated the moustache into our logo to further show our support and to raise awareness of men’s health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men’s suicide.
The Open Group supports many causes. On September 10, 2022, The Open Group took part in the London Half Marathon Charity Walk. Prior to the pandemic, The Open Group staff would take part in similar events in the name of many different charities. This year though, we were able to focus efforts on raising money for a cause near and dear to us, The Stroke Association after losing a long-term colleague and friend in recent years.
Through the walk, a generous amount of money was raised for the Stroke Association. Steve Nunn, President & CEO of The Open Group led by example and negotiated the crowds, cutting and weaving his way through the foot-traffic. The first of The Red Hot Chili Steppers (team name) finished the half marathon walk in 3hrs13 minutes, having kept up a fast enough pace to cross the finish first, before the finish line was even set-up. The rest of the team shortly followed still branding smiles on their faces. The day was a huge success, we were so proud of our team, and our organization for raising money for a cause close to us. Mehrdad Solaymantash (Soly) had been at The Open Group for nearly 30 years and loved to take part in the charity walks.
The work of The Stroke Association is extremely vital and important. They provide specialist support, fund critical research, and campaign to make sure people affected by stroke get the very best care and support to rebuild their lives.
We are thrilled to have been able to raise £1,625 – 162% of our target. We know that it will be put to good use in helping people recover and rebuild after a stroke.
More information about Movember (including how to donate), can be found below:
- https://uk.movember.com/donate
- https://uk.movember.com/
- https://www.gillette.co.uk/blog/facial-hair-styles/movember-rules/
Ash Patel, Marketing Specialist, joined The Open Group in 2020, initially working in the Certification Team as a Certification Services Agent, before moving into the Marketing Team where he now works on digital communications, content for the staff intranet (O-Zone), SEO (Search Engine Optimization), and analytics. Ash holds a First-Class Bachelor’s Degree in Media Production (BA hons) from Coventry University and has a background in content writing, copy writing, script writing, photo editing, and video editing. He is based in the UK.