The University of Exeter community has raised over £20,000 in under a week for Movember, ranking first place nationally for UK universities.
November 1st saw the community kick off their month-long campaign in aid of Movember, a global campaign held every November to raise awareness of men’s health. This campaign raises money for many male-focused issues, including support of male suicide prevention, mental health, and prostate and testicular cancer research.
Early stages of the National Movember Campus Challenge, a healthy competition between 90 UK universities, saw the University of Exeter rank in first place for contributions raised.
As of 6th November, total contributions raised were £20,756.98 – this placed the university narrowly in front of Durham University, which raised £19,593.95. Collectively, this university challenge has raised £283,273 (as of 6th November).
As of 6th November, total contributions raised were £20,756.98 – this placed the university narrowly in front of Durham University, which raised £19,593.95.
“Bigger. Than. Ever.” are the three words Ved Narahari, a Movember Ambassador for the University of Exeter, chose to use in his description of this year’s campaign.
Confirming in an unreleased podcast interview of Off the Page with Exeposé, Ved informed Exeposé that this year’s target was set at £200,000 – if achieved, this would be the largest amount raised by any university in the history of Movember.
Many events have taken place so far in support of this campaign, including the notorious ‘Brave the Shave.’
Whilst commonly associated with MacMillan Cancer Support, the global Movember movement has adopted ‘Brave the Shave’ as a staple character to its method of raising awareness.
Taking place on 5th November in the Forum, local barbers and students gathered together to shave their heads in solidarity with the Movember campaign.
Leia West, a University of Exeter Movember Ambassador, stated, “Brave the Shave is about fully committing and going all out for men’s health.”
“Brave the Shave is about fully committing and going all out for men’s health.”
Leia West, University of Exeter Movember Ambassador
For many, raising awareness of the cause is just as important as the money donated for the campaign. In an interview whilst braving the shave, third-year student Alex Mills confidently said he had “no regrets.”
Alex also said: “There are so many boys out there, so many men, who have nobody to talk to, and by reaching out to your friends, you can really help them out and build a deeper bond with them as well. By shaving my hair, I’m just showing my support for all the people out there struggling.”
“There are so many boys out there, so many men, who have nobody to talk to, and by reaching out to your friends, you can really help them out and build a deeper bond with them as well. By shaving my hair, I’m just showing my support for all the people out there struggling.”
Alex Mill
Community action has also proved vital to the first week’s major success. The university’s Movember group has claimed they are ‘uniting as a community to make a real difference… encouraging everyone, students, staff, and the wider Exeter community, to get involved.’
Immense support has been shown from the local community, with dozens of local businesses dedicating their time and relationship with wider communities to spread awareness of the Movember cause.
Aspects of Movember, such as ‘Brave the Shave,’ are testimonies to this element, with a gathering of local barbers coming together to spread the message across our campus.
Immense support has been shown from the local community, with dozens of local businesses dedicating their time and relationship with wider communities to spread awareness of the Movember cause.
With Exeter sitting at the top of the national leaderboard at the end of the first week, will the momentum continue building? Whether the university can maintain its position at the top remains to be seen – but if the first week is anything to go by, this could be the university’s biggest ever Movember.
