Why our students are raising money and awareness for Men’s Health
Each year, the University of Chichester participates in Movember to raise money and awareness of men’s health, with a particular focus on men’s mental health.
Student and official Movember ambassador Steven Hurst (pictured above) is leading the University of Chichester’s 20 sport teams, a total of 295 students, in fundraising for Movember this year. Collectively, they have already fundraised over £20,000+ and substantially opened up the men’s health conversation among staff, students and the wider West Sussex community.
As well as growing moustaches, the majority of teams are participating in a number of challenges to fundraise, raise awareness and represent key men’s health statistics:
- 8km row to represent 1 in 8 men having a mental health problem
- 26km run to represent 26% survival rate of prostate cancer
- Running/walking 60km over the month to represent 60 men we lose to suicide each hour, every hour across the world
- 75km cycle to represent 75% of all suicides are male in the UK
- 2034 push ups to represent suicide being the leading cause of death in men aged 20-34 in the UK
- 4300 crunches to represent 4300 men who take their own lives in the UK each year
“To me, Movember isn’t just about about raising money for a charity. It’s about bringing everyone as uni together and having a laugh while raising awareness for serious male health issues. My own personal experiences have caused me to want to make sure that people don’t experience what I have felt within my life.
It’s my first year as a Movember ambassador and we’re already smashing last years total, it is such an amazing feeling and I’m so proud of every single person at the University who is taking part, as well being incredibly grateful to everyone who has donated.”
Steven, BA (Hons) Physical Education and Sports Coaching student, Handball Vice-President and official Movember ambassador
HEAR FROM OUR STUDENTS TAKING PART:
“Movember actually means quite a lot to me as I have been struggling with anxiety and depression quite recently. I think that it is so important for men’s health to be spoken about more and for guys to know that it’s okay to be struggling and that there is always people that will listen to their story. I shared my story on one of my Instagram posts recently and the response I received was like nothing I had ever thought, and since then I have been sharing many posts to raise awareness of men’s health.”
Tom, BA (Hons) Physical Education (Secondary Years) student and Basketball player
“In my second year of uni I really struggled with mental health and ended up deferring the year and was even close to dropping out. I bottled up my feelings and felt I had no one to talk to in regards to my stress and anxiety. I take part in Movember to spread awareness and help let men know that it is okay not to be okay and they should speak up if they are ever feeling down. That is why Movember is important to me and why I take part.”
Joe, BA (Hons) Sport Business & Management students and Men’s Rugby Welfare Officer
“For me, Movember means working towards speaking up when you’re feeling down. Testicular and prostate cancer are both important and worthy of the awareness Movember brings with it but I think mental health and suicide prevention is pertinent given that they are the most common and by far the most preventable of the three. Not to mention that I, and many close friends and family, have had issues, and continue to have issues with mental health. Mental illnesses can strike anywhere at anytime and there is no “cure”, nothing to make us immune. Therefore, dealing with mental health should be as much about preventing illness as treating it. Prevention from means as simple as communication. We all understand it can be difficult to open up to someone ourselves so part of the process is trying to make it easier for others. Ask the people in your life if they’re okay – before they’re not. Then ask again.”
Cameron, BA (Hons) Screenwriting student and Handball player
“Movember is an important time to raise awareness for mental health issues across the globe, but its not enough to raise awareness; more importantly we actually have to go out of our way to take action every day of our lives and simply be kind to everyone and ourselves. You never know who is going through what, at times even you yourself could be suffering without knowing, and the only way to combat this disease is simply to be kind. One check up or act of kindness is all it takes to improve someone’s day, do that 365 times and you’ve improved their year. Hopefully Movember can make more and more people realise that it’s as simple as being kind and putting a smile on your face.
There’s always a lot of focus on how deadly other diseases can be which always puts men’s mental health under the radar. Only in November does this issue get highlighted yet we seem to forget there’s 11 other months in a year where so many people are going through unimaginable problems and no one knows about them. The thing with this disease is that it’s got no specific timeline; it can last for months, years or even a lifetime. So it’s our job to go out of our way and make sure the ones in our lives do not have to suffer this alone.”
Shahab, BA (Hons) Sport Business & Management student and Cricket Secretary
“Movember to me is a beacon to everyone to show that it’s okay not to be okay and it’s okay to talk and that there are people who care and are willing to listen to each other because in my opinion no one walks this Earth alone. A very old friend of mine knew someone who suffered and suffered alone, so I think in some way I’m in it for them, and show every other man who is suffering who doesn’t want to speak out that it is okay to do so.”
Harry, BA (Hons) Physical Education (Secondary Years) student and Lacrosse Vice President
“Movember to me means making sure that men know it’s okay to struggle with mental health and for men to be more open about it. I want the stigma around men’s mental health to start to move towards it being more acceptable to talk about.”
Jake, BA (Hons) Sport Business & Management student and Men’s Football Charity & Fundraising Officer
“Looking from a mental health point of view, I think it is important to check on your loved ones and make sure they are ok. Movember is a great way of bringing people together, especially at this time. Everyone has difficulties throughout their life and asking for help can be very hard. So being there for someone is so important. There shouldn’t be any shame to ask for help and I think charities, such as Movember, can help remove any stigma around mental illness. I know how important friends and loved are to me and am thankful for the help they have given me throughout my life. All the teams are doing a great job, as always to raise as much money as possible. This year, more than ever, it is important to be there for others and check in on our mates.”
Luke, BA (Hons) Physical Education (Secondary Years) student and Volleyball President
“Movember for me is for the dads, sons, brothers and mates, making sure they know they are not alone. Now more than ever it is important to check up on those close to us. It has always been about checking up on my mates and making sure they know someone is there for them and Movember is an amazing platform to help those around me.”
Jay, BA (Hons) Physical Education (Primary Years) student and Men’s Rugby President
“Movember means a lot to me as my grandad passed away from prostate cancer – having lost somebody in my family due to prostate cancer has inspired me to raise money for men’s health. I also think men’s mental health is very much overlooked thinking that men have to ‘man up about it’ rather than speaking about it.”
Tom, BSc (Hons) Sports Therapy student and Men’s Rugby Social Secretary
“Before University, I thought Movember was just growing facial hair but after coming to University I have gained a much deeper understanding about the event. I now understand that it’s all about men’s mental health and wellbeing. Men’s health is something which is very important and needs to be spoken about more, which makes Movember even more important. Men’s health is not the most spoken topic so being able to contribute and raise awareness will help the movement.”
Darren, BA (Hons) Physical Education and Sports Coaching student and Basketball player
TEAMS:
Men’s Rugby are all growing moustaches, with some players rocking mullets or shaving their head completely! They will also be hosting a charity quiz night and each participating in running challenges throughout the month.
The Men’s Rugby club are currently leading with nearly £4,000 raised.
Women’s Hockey are running 60km each this month, and hosting a virtual fundraiser. The Women’s Hockey Club are currently second on the University of Chichester leaderboard.
Sponsor the Women’s Hockey Club
“To me, Movember is all about raising awareness and defeating the stigma surrounding men’s health. As a woman we all have a dad, brother, uncle, friend or even a partner in our lives that could be affected by mental health. That’s why I think it’s important whoever you are to do your bit, or to just start that important conversation. Being at university has inspired me to want to raise money for men’s health as before then, it wasn’t something that I had ever really heard of and, as a girl, I didn’t know there was anything that I could do. I think the main thing that has inspired me is that 3/4 suicides are usually men. It’s a statistic that is too high and we need to spread the message that it’s okay to not be okay.”
Chloe, BA (Hons) Physical Education (Primary Years) student and Women’s Hockey President
The Women’s Rugby Club are completing 60km and 1440 minutes of exercise each to raise money.
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“It’s important to us to support the men in our lives and for us to help change the face of men’s health. The men at this university have put in an incredible effort, they’re inspiring us to do more!”
Anna, BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Science student and Women’s Rugby President
The Cricket Club are running and cycling 60km, doing 4300 crunches and 2034 press ups across November.
“As President of a male dominated club, I recognise the taboo of men’s mental health and the importance of checking in on loved ones. I feel Movember tackles real issues of today, particularly given the situation we are faced with, so I wanted to get involved and do my bit to raise awareness and contribute to a worthy cause.”
Danielle, BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Science student and Cricket President
The Basketball Club have arranged for a leg waxing for Movember.
The Handball Club have set a number of fundraising targets and if they are met, the team members take part in a challenge.
“We have a lot of hair dying going on as well. We’ve had pink, blue, and bleach blonde, but fresher Sam outdid us all with a WSIHE inspired blue and yellow mullet. Body hair waxing seems to be a common theme as well, Charlie has already waxed his chest and if club VP and Movember ambassador Steven Hurst achieves his goal of £1000 he’ll being doing a full body wax. I also organised a few very popular Among Us fundraisers, which I would encourage anyone to try as it’s very easy to do and it’s a lot of fun, not to mention great at getting donations.”
Cameron, BA (Hons) Screenwriting student and Handball player
The Netball Club are completing 1440 minutes of exercise in groups of 4 by the end of the month.
“I think Movember is a great way to raise awareness for men’s health by bringing people together.”
Lauren, BA (Hons) Physical Education (Secondary Years) student and Netball Social Secretary
The Women’s Football Club are walking, running or cycling 60km each throughout November.
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“Last year was where I got inspired to raise awareness as the university and all the sports teams got really involved with it. Also I feel a lot of people, myself included, have had male family members or friends suffer from mental health issues or cancer and I feel like by getting involved, it helps raise both awareness and funds for these topics.”
Chloe, BA (Hons) Physical Education (Secondary Years) student and Women’s Football Welfare Officer
The Swim team will swim 1440 lengths, they have completed half up until lockdown, and will resume when it is safe to do so.
“Movember is really important to us as a club as we are diverse and a mixed team, and we believe that it is vital that we all talk to each other and check in on each other. We have always wanted to get behind this as a club as I believe it is important to keep the conversation going. What our students did last year was incredible and we really wanted to help out this year.”
Amelia, BA (Hons) Physical Education (Secondary Years) student and Swim President
Each men’s footballer has been challenged to run 43km this month, some of the players are even running 4.3k a day.
Sponsor the Men’s Football Club
“Movember means a lot to me as all men need to look after each other, we are seen to act like idiots half of the time but you never know what’s going on behind closed doors. We are raising awareness to get men to speak up, and have the confidence to speak up too!”
Josh, student and Men’s Football 6’s Manager
FIND OUT MORE:
- How you can get involved with Movember
- Keep up to date with how much money the University of Chichester Sports teams have raised
- Follow @WSIHEMovember on Instagram
- The student support services available at the University
