Stirling students have smashed their fundraising target in charity efforts for Movember in the first week of the month.
Teams made up of clubs, societies and sports teams have already raised £17,123 in the first week of November, beating the target of £15,000.
More has been made this week than the entirety of the uni’s fundraising in 2019.
Stirling’s Movember Ambassador Camy Rosen praised teams for their efforts so far.
“I am blown away by the money already raised by Stirling Uni for Movember, a big part of that effort so far has been men’s rugby but with the start of the month we are seeing a lot of involvement from everyone on campus.
“No doubt this will be an amazing year for Movember.”
Many students will be growing moustaches, attempting to walk or run a certain distance or have dyed their hair for the Movember Foundation, a charity which aims to raise money and awareness for men’s health. Tackling issues such as mental health and raising awareness about prostate and testicular cancer.
So far the top fundraisers have been sports teams, with Men’s Rugby leading the charge raising £4,820.71.
Hugh Goovaerts, President of Stirling University RFC, spoke about their efforts and how Movember is a charity which is important to the team;
“As a club we are extremely proud of everything positive we achieve together both on and off the rugby pitch. Movember has always been a charity we are passionate about and the fundraising we do every year consistently impresses me.
“Even though it has been a difficult year for everyone the success we have had raising money makes me extremely proud to be part of such an extraordinary club.”
Fundraising for the men’s health charity has been taken up by both male and female students, with netball being in the top three amounts raised by teams with £1,540.
Netball President Laura Van Ransbeke said that men’s health is an important issue for the Netball team as they all want to help the men that are important to them in their lives.
“Despite SUNC being an all-female club, each and every one of us have important men in our lives, whether that be friends, boyfriends, dads or brothers, so even though we can’t do Movember in the traditional sense we know how important it is for us to get involved.
“We’re excited for everything we can achieve as a club, along with the official Stirling Uni Movember campaign to support all the men in our lives.”
The swimming team, sitting at the second highest amount raised with £1,753 said that although it was mainly men who took part in previous fundraisers, women members have helped to beat last year’s amount.
President Callum Lawrie said:
“We are incredibly pleased with our fundraising efforts so far. Movember is a staple of the swim teams yearly fundraising calendar and we are proud to be participating in it again. It is so important to raise awareness and funds for men’s health.
“This year we decided to mix things up a bit more. Previously it was mainly the boys who participated in our Movember through growing their moustache.
“We decided that we should expand this to also include fundraising from the girls in the club through doing Move for Movember. The girls have done a fantastic job so far and collectively we have already surpassed our total raised from previous years.”
Student leaders praised the collective efforts of the teams in raising money for Movember, in what is a record breaking first week for Stirling Movember.
Sports President Edd Keeler, who himself is taking part in the charity efforts, got behind teams and applauded them for their community spirit.
“It is inspiring to see all of the incredible exercise, facial hair and hair dying that is happening around our union at the moment to support the message and aims of movember. It once again shows the generosity and community spirit that is at the core of every member of the students union.
“So far 391 members from over 40 sports clubs and uni societies have signed up to the challenge. With societies outwith the Sports Union such as sororities Zeta Kappa Rho and Tri Alpha, media societies Brig Newspaper and AirTv, as well as the Debating Society and Stirling’s Uni Boob Team collectively raising over £600 for the cause.
“Now that the initial target has been met, Rosen has set the next milestone for the teams to reach to aid the Movember foundation.
“What an absolute amazing effort from all teams and individuals so far! We have already raised more money in the past few days than we did in the entire month of Movember last year! Keep up the amazing work and lets shoot for £20k.”
Feature image credit: Brig
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