USAFL Movember Campaign -- Call To Action!

USAFL Clubs,

In last week's "Count Down to 2019 USAFL Nationals" newsletter we announced the partnership with the Movember Foundation for the 2019 USAFL Movember Campaign which will be kicking off at Nationals.  We need all clubs to get involved this year as Movember is a MAJOR charity partner for the AFL and the USAFL will be building this partnership this year and in the future.

The campaign will run for the month of November and will include a teams competition so clubs need to set up a club team to compete in the USAFL Movember Challenge.  This challenge will track the progress of each club and award prizes for the best team fundraising, MOves and awareness-raising efforts. There will be individual awards for Mo-bros and Mo-sisters also.

WHAT WE NEED YOU TO DO;

- Assign a Movember CHAMPION at your club that will set up the club team (they need to register themselves first), be the point of contact during the campaign and rally the troops at their club. Please email dave.bryant@USAFL.com the name of your club's champion once identified

- Request EVERYONE at your club register for Movember (or re-activate their existing login) at www.movember.com and JOIN their club's Movember team (search for and join the club's Movember Team).  A link to sign-up to Movember will be placed on the USAFL website this week.

It is easy to participate in the Movember Campaign.  It is not just about growing a Mo (which is cool) or raising money, actually more importantly it is about raising awareness for Men's Health and encouraging everyone around us to be proactive about their physical and mental health, especially guys, who are less likely talk about their health let along do something about it!

Movember is not just about men.  Men's health affects everyone in our lives; wives, mothers, kids, relations, friends and colleagues.  Women can make a huge difference to the world-wide men's health challenge and can participate in the campaign in various ways;

Wear a MO - adopt a draw-on, stick-on or the "finger Mo" - take photos and post them on SM and your personal Movember page to show your participation & support (incl #USAFLMovember)

MOve - Dedicate your exercise to the Movember cause - track your MOves by logging them on your personal Movember page (running or walking 60 miles for the 60 men we lose to suicide each hour, every hour across the world). Links to Strava, Garmin, Fitbit.

Host a MO-ment - host an event or party to bring people together and talk about men's health and the great things Movember are helping to deal with it!

Facts about MOVEMBER:

Men are dying on average 6 years earlier than women, and for largely preventable reasons. Prostate cancer rates will double over the next 15 years. Testicular cancer rates have already doubled in the last 50. And across the world, one man dies by suicide every minute of every day, with males accounting for 2/3 of all suicides.

The Movember Foundation was started by 2 Aussies in a pub in Melbourne in 2003 and has since expanded to over 6 million participants from over 21 countries and over $900M raised for men's health research and associated services.  

Movember has funded over 1250 men's health programs globally and has significantly increased awareness about prostate and testicular cancer and mental health and suicide prevention and is ranked in the top 50 NGO organizations in the world. The AFL are a prime partner of Movember.

SO, why should your club participate?  All of us are (or have been) impacted by men's health issues such as prostate, testicular and mental health problems in some way whether it be our direct family, an uncle/grandfather, friend, or colleague, and know the pain and suffering it can cause them and everyone around them.  This is your chance to do something about it and join the millions of supporters who have joined Movember for the cause!

There's no better reason to get involved!!

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Dave Bryant
VP Central Region & 2019 USAFL MOVEMBER CAMPAIGN Coordinator
United States Australian Football League
dave.bryant@usafl.com