It’s November and that means men across campus and across the world will come together to celebrate the growth of facial hair — and stashing the razor. Today, though, there is a lack of knowledge that the month’s movements began to help promote men’s health and cancer awareness.

Many men participating in the November facial hair traditions think of them as a fun excuse to exercise their facial follicles for a month, when actually they are unknowingly showing support for a good cause.

There are two similar movements that revolve around growing men’s facial hair to raise money for cancer during November: Movember and No-Shave November. Despite their alike goals, the two have distinct differences.

Movember traces back to 2003 when a group of 30 guys in Australia made a push to bring the mustache back in style. They soon noticed their newly-grown mustaches were sparking conversation. In 2004, the group decided to put their ‘staches to good use and began the Movember movement to raise money for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.

The Movember Foundation directs its efforts on creating positive change in men’s health into four areas: prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health problems and physical inactivity.

Five years later, the Movember movement had 373,530 “Mo Bros and Mo Sistas” across seven countries that had generated more than $46 million. By the 10th anniversary of the movement, Movember ranked 72nd out of the top 500 non-governmental organizations in the world with $649 million raised and more than 4,700,000 participants in 21 countries.

The second of the two movements is No-Shave November. No-Shave November widens the view  of the Movember movement, telling men and women to stop shaving all together.

No-Shave November’s mission is to “forgo shaving and grooming in order to evoke conversation and raise cancer awareness.” During the month of November, the organization encourages participants to take the money typically spent on shaving and grooming products and donate it to cancer research.

The organization has partnered with numerous cancer organizations including American Cancer Society, Prevent Cancer Foundation, Fight Colorectal Cancer and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The National Cancer Program reports that approximately 41 percent of Americans will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime with more than one-half of those diagnosed eventually dying from the disease.

We think that growing out big beards and thick mustaches is just for show, but these movements actually exist to combat a disease that kills more than half a million Americans annually. It is important for the men and women who do participate this month of limited grooming to realize what they are standing for.

For one University of Wisconsin student, the issue hits home more than most. Senior Erin O’Connor said that cancer has had a serious impact on her family.

Her family has a history of cancer and her uncle is currently in a struggle for his life against prostate cancer, O’Connor said.

“It has affected my family deeply, I appreciate all the people who are participating in the cause and raising awareness,” O’Connor said. “Initially, I thought it was about boys trying to be funny.”

While O’Connor is thankful for those who participate and wants more people to join, she emphasizes that people should be partaking for the right reasons. “What you’re doing is not for attention but directly impacting people’s lives,” O’Connor said.

So keep those razors in their cabinets and let your hair grow to new lengths as you support a great cause this November.

Ryan Smith ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in strategic communications.