On the final, celebratory evening for this year’s Movember fundraising campaign on Bowen Island participants received awards for their efforts at both moustache growing and fundraising. Hans Behm, for example, won the “Hero-Mo” award for being follicly challenged, yet still donating an upper lip for the cause of men’s health. For his extremely thick and manly moustache, Carlos Henriques, won the Man of Movember award. For outstanding leadership and five November’s dedicated to the Movember cause, Darryl Deegan won the Most Valuable Mo, award.
Deegan looks back to 2004 as his catalyst for participation in this campaign.
“I was living in Toronto and landed a job as a personal assistant for Sir Ian McKellan,” says Deegan. “My first day on the job he told me he’d been diagnosed with prostate cancer, but at that point he wanted to keep it quiet. Suddenly, the diet and overall health of one of the world’s most famous actors was in my hands.”
Deegan said he made sure McKellan ate properly throughout the long days on set of the movie Neverwas, and also bought the Moosewood Cookbook so he could cook for McKellan at home in the evenings. He also recalls numerous visits made to the hospital with the actor.
“The thing that really stayed with me from that experience,” Deegan says, “is that prostate cancer can be really deadly. But caught early can be treated very effectively.”
It was two years later that he says he first heard of Movember.
“It sounded like a lark so I figured why not?”
That year, Deegan’s small team of seven men raised $700.
Since then, the profile of the campaign has boomed. Still, Deegan says he is beyond impressed with the success of this year’s Movember fundraising campaign on Bowen Island.
“I can’t believe that here on Bowen, with such a small population we’ve raised so much money,” he says. “Movember is about talking to people about the cause, and also asking for money. Both of those things can be really hard. But it’s also about having fun – and looking either silly or sexy, depending on your face!”
