‘Airbustache’ team raise over £700 for Movember

Employees from the Airbus site in Broughton took part in the annual moustache-growing fundraising campaign for the Movember Foundation last month, raising over £700 to promote awareness of men’s health issues.

The ‘Airbustache’ Movember team has sported a range of facial hair over the past month, including handlebar, horseshoe and French style moustaches, in an attempt to get people talking about men’s health in the workplace.

As ‘Airbustache’ team captain Peter Whitwam, who works in Operation Support Services at Airbus Broughton, explains: “Very often men are either not aware of or afraid to speak up about men’s health issues, which can lead to both unnecessary and premature death.

“There has been a lot of camaraderie over the last 30 days with everyone from colleagues to suppliers being incredibly supportive. Thanks to all of the growers and supporters who have helped raise over £700 with more still to come. With a great moustache comes great responsibility.”

The Movember Foundation was set up in 2003 to address the men’s health crisis with the aim of breaking down the stigma attached to men’s health issues, including prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health problems. Since then, the foundation has funded more than 1200 projects in association with 20 men’s health partners across 21 countries worldwide.

Movember Foundation has raised £443 million

In the past 13 years, the Movember Foundation has raised £443 million, encouraging people to open up and talk about some of the most serious health problems faced by thousands of men globally, as well as bringing back the moustache trend in the process. By 2030, the Movember Foundation aims to reduce the number of premature deaths among men by 25%.

Vicente Sanchez Hernandez, an Airbus graduate who participated in this year’s scheme, said: “This is the first time I have taken part in Movember and the encouragement from my Airbus colleagues has been overwhelming. Aside from the initial jokes about my moustache, everyone has been really keen to get involved and it’s amazing to see just how passionate people are about men’s health”.

Broughton’s sister site in Filton, Bristol was also part of the Movember movement, hosting a ‘big shave’ event to mark the end of the fundraising campaign with free razors handed out to all of the employees who took part.

The Movember Foundation was supported through the Airbus employee fundraising initiative, Charity Challenge, which raises money for both the Airbus partner charity as well as local and national charity campaigns.

UK Charity Challenge Manager at Airbus Broughton, Lauren Ashall, said: “It’s always great to see employees getting involved with charity events. The Movember campaign has been a real team effort on site and I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who has participated or sponsored a colleague”.