Getting hairy for a cause: Airman grows mustache for charity

By Lisa Moore
440th AW PAO

November 24, 2011

	Photo by Lisa Moore/440th AW PAO Capt. Robert Engelmann wears his new mustache to create awareness for the annual Movember mens health awareness campaign.

Capt. Robert Engelmann is sporting a new look these days. Englemann, who is the commander of the 440th Airlift Wing Communications flight, is one of hundreds of thousands of men around the globe striving to bring awareness to mens health issues by participating in the annual Movember mens health awareness campaign.

Movember is an annual, month-long event involving the growing of moustaches during November to raise awareness and funds for men’s health issues such as prostate and testicular cancer and depression.

Participants must start with a clean shaven face and for the entire month of November, each “Mo Bro” must grow and groom a moustache.

Engelmann, who is normally clean shaven, has been careful to keep his moustache within Air Force regulation guidelines. After losing his grandfather to cancer, Engelmann is an advocate for cancer research.

“This is a really good cause,” he said. “People are more willing to talk about women’s cancer than testicular cancer. Through research, I found out that one, in two men, will be diagnosed with cancer in their life time and 24 percent of men are less likely to go to the doctor compared to women.”

With over 800,000 men participating this year, the Movember project raised more than $80 million last year and has raised more than $51.5 million dollars worldwide so far this year.

The Movember event was conceived in 1999 by a group of Australian men and since 2004, the Movember charity has run events to raise mens health awareness. Of the funds raised, support has been committed to programs supporting prostate cancer and other cancers effecting men and awareness and education programs.

The United States Movember project was launched in 2007. The U.S. website, www.us.movember.com, contains many facts and statistics about mens health and discusses how the funds raised are used. To track Englemann’s progress or donate to his campaign, log on to his Movember web pledge page at http://mobro.co/RobEngelmann.

Share