MOvember Draws To a Close at Talawanda

‘Tis the season to be burly. Movember is here and Talawanda English teacher Matt Aerni is leading an army of fellow THS teachers and friends into an international battle for mens health awareness, all sporting unique facial hair.

Movember is an international organization that stands “to change the face of men’s health” according to their website, by promoting the awareness of men’s health . The goal is to encourage more men to be screened for cancer and help men maintain a healthy mental state.

Captain and founder of the Talawanda Team (MOhio) Matt Aerni started the team after reading an article in the Hamilton Journal one year ago. “I instantly went on the website and started the team that day,” said Aerni. “This is my second year running the MOhio team.”

Last year the MOhio team raised close to $3,000. “There wasn’t really a goal last year,” said Aerni. “This year our goal is $5,000. There is more organization this year, and I wanted a higher goal than last year’s earnings.”

The team had an event on November 18 at Buffalo Wild Wings at the uptown location in Oxford. “I don’t know exactly how much money was raised yet,” said Aerni. The amount raised is still to be announced but Buffalo Wild Wings donates 10% of total purchases from the event.

Talawanda biology teacher Jeff Yuva said that Aerni did a phenomenal job organizing the team. “I’m putting forth so much energy growing the amazing moustache that I am sporting that it’s difficult for me to find the strength to participate in many of the other fundraising type things such as getting the boxes or whatever it is for money collection,” said Yuva. “[Aerni] is great, he gathers all of the supplies and organizes all of the events. He’s a great leader for this movement.”

Yuva says that there is some competition and rivalry in the team, but “it’s all in good fun”.

“Generally if someone grows a weaker mustache than others i think its a kind of an unspoken known. We try not to outwardly harass the individual. There has also been mention of certain people growing mustaches that lack more pigment when compared to others due to age or various other factors.”

Yuva doesn’t participate in the funds aspect of Movember, he focuses on the health aspect. “I think the more important thing is just the simple raising awareness. Statistically, one in two males will be afflicted with cancer during their lifetime. So kind of  just that awareness and hopefully people will get screened at an earlier point in life.”

Art teacher Jim McWilliams is a MOhio team veteran and is participating in Movember for the second time. “There is a bunch of energy, good times, good people, all hopefully doing something good for men’s health,” he said. “We need more events to get to our team goal of $5,000 and we need more movents like we had at Buffalo Wild Wings”.

With one week left in November, Movember will soon come to an end, and MOhio will wrap up its second year.