This month, several areas of the Cal State Fullerton campus, including the University Police Department, are celebrating Movember. Their focus? Men’s health. The goal is to transform how men look after their health and get support.
During November, or Movember, men are encouraged to grow mustaches while raising funds to support this movement. To date, more than 1,200 men’s health projects in 20 countries have been funded by the Movember Foundation.
UPD has a challenge underway, encouraging donations through their Mo Five-O site. In addition, from 9:30 to 11 a.m. on Nov. 15, UPD will sponsor “Coffee with a Cop” in the quad near the Humanities building. For every $5 donation made at that event, participants will receive a mustache decal.
“Unfortunately, Movember, this year, has taken on a totally different, but important, meaning for me,” said UPD Captain Scot Willey. “I am raising funds in honor of my older brother, Kent, who tragically took his life this year, after years of battling mental health issues. Also, my daughter and I are each taking the 60-mile challenge to raise awareness about the men we lose to suicide every 60 seconds in this country.
“Globally, the rate of suicide is alarmingly high, particularly in men,” he added. “Too many men are ‘toughing it out,’ keeping their feelings to themselves and struggling in silence. The Movember Foundation is aiming to reduce the rate of male suicide by 25 percent by 2030, and I want to help them get there.”