Raising awareness and educating others about the serious health issues that affect men all over the world has been the pivotal focus for our Mo Bros this year.
Perhaps the biggest awareness generator of the campaign is, of course, the now-famous Movember film, which launched just yesterday, marking the finish line for this fantastic campaign. This year, the boys chose Bruno Mars’ 24k Magic to turn into a Movember masterpiece, rewriting the lyrics and creating a hugely entertaining parody of the original, which they aptly named 23 MoBro Magic. If you have not had a chance to watch the film, you can do so below.
Upper Sixth Former Jacob Foster, who led the production of this year’s film, explained, “Making the video is great fun, but it’s the bigger message that it communicates that is important. We are all young boys and probably all of us know someone who has struggled with their mental health or might have suffered ourselves. Lots of friends and parents will see that we have made this video and so it is a great way of raising awareness for this very important cause.”
Education started at school with the boys in the Upper School who learned serious messages about men’s mental health issues, suicide prevention and physical concerns such as testicular cancer and prostate cancer. This was led by the Mo Bros and started at the Movember Citizenship Morning – you can read more about this here.
Next on the agenda was an assembly at Bedford Girls’ School, in which the Mo Bros, accompanied by their ‘Mo Sistas’, delivered hard hitting facts about men’s physical and mental health. Girls play a pivotal role in the success of Movember by supporting and encouraging the men in their lives to get involved.
Mo Bros and Mo Sistas who gave assembly at Bedford Girls’ School.
The Prep School boys enjoyed a Movember assembly delivered by Upper Sixth Mo Bros, Ben Plumley, Will Trobe, Freddie Drake-Lee, Aiden Ainsworth-Cave and Thomas Jenkins where they combined serious messages, such as talking about a problem is always the best way, with fun facts about the campaign. The Prep Boys even judged their ‘taches and showed their votes by clapping! You can read more about this assembly here.
Mo Bros after Prep School assembly.
Mrs Victoria Marriot, Head of Charities, said, “Movember has become more than a tradition now, it’s part of the fabric of who we are. This year, we wanted awareness to be at the forefront of the campaign and the boys have raised the bar even higher. I have been stunned at the work ethic, passion and commitment they have shown throughout the month, setting their sights high and achieving more than we set out to. Never has men’s mental and physical health been more important and the boys have done a phenomenal job. Our ambition ‘that they be good men’ has never been more relevant and we couldn’t be prouder of them.”
Key Movember facts and the reason why we are all so passionate about this campaign:
- Globally, one man dies every minute from suicide.
- Men account for 69% of all suicides.
- On average, men die 4.5 years earlier than women.
- Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in young men.
In addition to raising awareness, the boys have also done a sterling job at fundraising, topping the school’s leaderboard and raising over £11,500 to date. If you would like to support the boys on their quest and donate to Movember, you can do so here.