Staff and students in WIT from Agriculture and Agriculture Science have finished 14 in the Movember team leaderboard after raising €11,000 for the Movember Foundation
Agriculture Science lecturer Bill Keogh, organised Movember event with the Ag and Ag-Science students in WIT called the “WIT AG MOVEMBER”. Michael Breen, Tony Woodcock and Wayne Cummins, also lecturers from the Department of Science, along with 35 of the Agriculture and Agricultural Science students joined the event to support men’s health by raising funds and awareness.
Number of reasons
Bill had a number of reasons as to why he set up this Movember event. "Firstly a friend of mine is going through prostate cancer treatment at the moment and I thought it may help give him some solace that people are willing to support a charity that supports research into finding a cure for prostate cancer.
Secondly, Movember also represents men's mental health issues and I have had a few friends suffer from depression over the years. Students can be going through hard times that no one may know about, Movember hopefully encourages them to step forward and realise that there is alot of support out there and that there is no need to feel alone or isolated. It's to make the wider community including Students aware of the issues that men go through. Movember is probably one of a few charities that support men's health.
Finally, it brought students together from each of the academic years which really was great for Ag and Ag-Science students as it allowed them to create new friendships across each academic year".
Moustache shaving
On Monday 2 December the final team event took place in the main atrium in WIT. The moustache shaving “WIT AG MOVEMBER” raised an incredible €11,000 through generous donations and fundraising events.
“People could pick what lecturer or students to donate online. It’s all a part of making students and people in the wider community aware of prostate and testicular cancer and men’s mental health issues”, Bill Keogh.
Movember leaderboard
The team organised a fundraising event in Kitty Kiernan's Pub, where the students raised over €1700. Prizes were donated by Glanbia Agribusiness Red Mills, Centra, Vikings GAA, WIT and many others. The team were featured on a farming media website Agriland.
The “WIT AG MOVEMBER” finished 14 on the Movember leaderboards. “It’s not every year the students, farmers, PAYE workers beat the revenue commissioners (17 place) but we did this time”, Bill Keogh.
Movember
What we stand for: tackling prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention. Since 2003, Movember has funded more than 1,250 men’s health projects around the world, challenging the status quo, shaking up men’s health research and transforming the way health services reach and support men.
From 30 Moustaches to 5 million
From humble beginnings, the Movember movement has grown into a truly global one. We’ve made epic progress¬ in men’s health, but every whisker of credit goes to our Mo Bros and Mo Sistas around the world. Five million since 2003.
Their enthusiasm fuels our fire. Their support changes lives. For them, we’re committed to keeping things fun, fresh and inspiring. They are the rock stars – we are the roadies. By 2030, we aim to reduce the number of men dying prematurely by 25%
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