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Movember NHL Duncan Keith

Movember + NHL + VISA Checkout = More Money For The Cause

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As you all know, the Movember movement is one that is close to my heart and something that I genuinely enjoy raising money for each year. This year I had the special opportunity to team up with the NHL, Movember and VISA Checkout to promote some great new tools that make the Movember season a lot more fun!

Throughout the month of November the NHL has added some very cool MoBro Tools to the Movember website. First you get to choose your NHL star from names like Duncan Keith, James Van Riemsdyk, Jonathan Bernier and Patrice Bergeron, and then you can select from creating a meme, video or voice message where the NHL star will promote your Mo! I was hooked from the moment I created my Duncan Keith Mo Commercial. Yes, he called me an awesome dude, and yes, I ate it up!

Further to the awesome MoBro Tools that are now available, if you use the VISA Checkout option when making your donation, VISA will donate an extra $10 to Movember! You don’t even need a VISA card to do this as it also accepts Mastercard and just note that you will be charged an extra 0.30 but it’s worth it for the extra $10! If that wasn’t enough, every time you donate using Visa Checkout you’re eligible to win a trip for 4 to the 2016 NHL Winter Classic in Boston!

Well, what are you waiting for? If you feel inclined to give, please visit my Movember page and I will be grateful for whatever amount you can spare. If you just want to go have some fun and make NHL commercials, you can head to the MoBro Tools page to do that and don’t forget to share with your friends!

Duncan Keith Movember

Movember Is Back, Baby! Let’s Do Some Good!

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Ladies & Gentlemen, It’s Mo-Time!!!! I’m so excited to have Movember back because it gives us a chance to raise funds and awareness for Men’s Health issues. Our team looks a lot different from the rag tag group of underdogs that raised over $12,000 last year but that definitely isn’t a negative thing. We lost a few good men but gained a few new MoSistas this season and I’m thankful that we have some women who want to help out the cause. And no, they won’t be growing mustaches…

I really wanted to keep this message short and sweet, so let me just say this: We are still looking for members to join our team, so please feel free to link up with us if you are flying solo. Our team is located Right Here! You can also use that link to donate if you feel inclined to do so. I highly recommend the donating part because there are not a lot of fundraisers that are geared towards men’s health and this one is personal to me and is one of the best.

That’s all I have to say for now but don’t worry, there will be more! If you are reading this and you happen to work for a business that would like to be a corporate sponsor, I will put a 2 month ad in my sidebar for any business that donates $150 or more! This fundraiser really means a lot to me and I hope you will join us in raising funds and awareness for this great cause. Thank you so much!

SUPPORT OUR TEAM HERE!!

12,474 Reasons Why This Was A Movember To Remember!

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Every once in a while, something happens that inspires you and reminds you that there is still a lot of good left in the world. Usually it comes in the form of a random act of kindness or something you would see on Ellen. That occurrence, for me at least, happened with my participation in the most recent Movember campaign.

When I decided to put a Movember team together, I thought it would be a fun way to get together with a bunch of friends, to grow our crazy moustaches and to raise awareness and a little bit of money for the cause. The original goal of $2,000 seemed lofty at the time, especially considering the state of the economy and the sheer number of causes out there around the Christmas season.

The series of events that followed completely changed the way I look at a lot of things. Not only did we smash our $2,000 goal before we even started growing the moustaches, but I was inspired by the willingness of the participants to want to make a difference. I quickly realized that this wasn’t about the moustaches. It was about supporting something that we believed in, that we as men are affected by, on a daily basis.

I saw people going the extra mile to make that difference. From selling personalized short stories and MoTies to giving away awesome Movember gear and sharing some very personal stories, this group of guys (and one MoSista) continued to surprise me at every turn. I’ve been a part of a lot of fundraising campaigns and had never seen a dedication like this.

Then there were the donors. It seemed like every time I mentioned that we were close to a milestone, someone would swoop in and proudly declare that they wanted to be the ones to get us there. Most of the time these were people that I had never met and had only interacted with a couple of times on social media. To these people, I say a huge heartfelt Thank You!

We even had corporate donors. They owed me nothing and I have little to offer in return, yet they still offered what they could to help support our journey. Whether it was a cash donation or products to give away at our closing party, I am endlessly grateful for their contributions and will not be forgetting it anytime soon. I want to give a shout out to those companies and hope they know how much we appreciate them. They are:

PlaSmart, Logs End Inc, Burnbrae Farms, Tag Along Toys, Elm Hill Kids, Play It Again Sports, Cloak and Curio, Fathead, Adult Essentials, Sarah J’s Cupcakes, Parent Tested Parent Approved & The Short and Sweet Kitchen.

If you are looking to buy from and work with good people, these are some of those very good people and I highly recommend all of them!

In closing, I really just want to say Thank You to everyone who had a part in helping us raise $12,474! It took me awhile to realize that this was actually a big deal and if you had said that we’d raise that total at the start, I would have laughed pretty hard. I’m very proud to have been a member of this team. It has inspired me and opened my eyes to what is possible when you put in the work.

I leave you with one of the coolest things I saw this Movember. Here is the MoCake that was made for our closing party, by Andrea from The Short & Sweet Kitchen. Pure Awesomeness!

On Setting And Achieving Goals {#Movember}

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When I started recruiting teammates for this year’s Movember campaign, I had preset a lofty goal of $2,000. Little did I realize that my teammates had different plans for our fundraising efforts, this November.

I had taken part in Movember before. Last year, before I had discovered blogging, I failed to gather any troops and provided $125 for the cause, with $50 of that being out of my own pocket. This year, however, I had a new audience, new friends and a passion to succeed. I also had a new found respect for the powers of influence and reach.

It was great to be able to surround myself with so many like-minded people, who were as committed to the Movember cause as I was. There is a bit of a stigma surrounding Movember, as some say it is just an excuse for guys to grow a mustache and then complain about how much they are suffering with it, without actually raising funds or awareness for the campaign.

While that may be true for some, I can assure the naysayers that our group of Mo Bro’s and Mo Sista’s not only did a great job of raising awareness, but late last night, we reached the $10,000 raised mark! I have never been a part of such a dedicated group of people and I’m incredibly proud of every single member of our team. We had members who sold MoTies, told very personal stories, gave away prizes out of their own pockets and even one member who offered to write personalized Christmas stories to all who donated to his page. It was incredible to watch everyone come together like that.

We also had an amazing turnout from the corporate community and I would like to personally thank all of the businesses who have contributed to our team, whether it be with donations or prizes. They are, PlaSmart, Logs End Inc, Burnbrae Farms, Tag Along Toys, Elm Hill Kids, Play It Again Sports, Cloak and Curio, Fathead, Adult Essentials & Sarah J’s Cupcakes. Your support has helped us achieve a goal that would have seemed unreachable at the start of all of this and I can’t say thank you enough!

With 2 days left and our Movember Party tonight, the sky is still the limit. While we won’t be setting any new goals, there are still nice, round numbers floating around in my head. I just want to say thank you to everybody who had a hand in contributing to our team’s success. We flew through goals of $2,000, $5,000 and $7,500, and it was all because of your generosity and commitment to making a better world for men who are suffering with cancer and mental illness.

I hope you all have a great day and thanks again for everything!

Cheers!

Movember Update And A Birthday Wish!

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I’m struggling with writing today’s post for a number of reasons. First and foremost, I wanted to attempt to accurately capture how proud I am of the Movember team I am Captain of. I’m guessing typed words won’t begin to show my passion for this cause or how excited I am that we have already raised $4,836 towards our goal of $5,000, with 16 days left to go.

The other issue is that today is also my Birthday, and while I realize the poor etiquette in pointing that out to everyone, I can assure you that my motives in doing so are pure. I wanted to share my Birthday wish with you all. If you’ve been reading this blog at all, you’ll know that I don’t believe in a lot of superstitions, so sharing my wish with you all shouldn’t be a big deal.

There are a million things I could wish for, with most of them being things that you would never see come true. Wishing for health and prosperity is nice but those are things that you can’t really control, except for following a healthy diet and going after your dreams. My wish today is a little simpler and a lot easier to obtain.

My wish, on my 34th birthday, is for our Movember Team to reach its goal of $5,000! That’s it. We’re $164 away and I know that this is an attainable wish for today, so let’s make it happen!

PS – Thank You for all the birthday wishes today! It’s only 8am and I already feel more spoiled than I deserve to be.

PPS – A special thanks to our Movember Corporate donors: Tag Along Toys, Play It Again Sports & Logs End Flooring! We couldn’t have gotten to this point without your support!

Cheers!!

The Mo Slowly Grows; But The Cause Is The Key #Movember

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With Movember season in full swing, this will be my first weekly update on how the Mo Grows. More importantly, it’s a chance to talk a little more about why I’ve decided to Grow my Mo for this worthy cause and to give an update on how Team Canadian Dad 2.012 is doing in their efforts.

As much fun as growing a moustache for Movember can be, it is obviously not the primary objective. We are raising funds and awareness to support men’s health issues, specifically prostate cancer and male mental health initiatives. These are issues that need to be talked about on a more consistent basis and Movember is helping to get the conversation started. It was in reading some of the stats below, that you really start to take notice of the change that is needed in our mindsets:

* On average men die five to six years younger than women.
* Suicide rates are four times higher for men than women.
* More than five men die prematurely each hour from potentially preventable illnesses.

While Movember does encourage more men to actively participate in the management of their health, studies also show that a lot of men are still ignoring their issues, rather than seeking the opinion of a doctor. Please, don’t be afraid to see your doctor if you think something is a little off. There is nothing uncool or unmanly about going to a doctor’s office to get checked out.

My Story

This initiative hits home for me on a couple of levels. Both my father and cousin are cancer survivors and without the proper funding and awareness, things could have turned out lot different. As far as me personally, after my father passed away from a vehicle accident, I went through a very dark period. For almost two years, I spent countless hours and many sleepless nights, thinking that I had every disease under the sun. I bounced from emergency rooms to specialists to my family doctor, until finally, after getting yet another negative result, one of the emergency room doctor’s referred me to a psychiatrist.

As you can imagine, the thought of needing to see a psychiatrist didn’t sit too well with me, but I went anyway. I’m not sure if it was my time with that doctor or just the realization that I was letting my family down, but I snapped out of my funk and haven’t looked back since. That’s not to say I don’t go get checked out when I feel a bit off, but I don’t let the negative thoughts creep into my head and take over my world anymore.

How You Can Help

We’re not growing these Mo’s for nothing! If you’re interested in helping out, I encourage you to visit our team page at Canadian Dad 2.012 and please make a small donation. It doesn’t have to be a huge amount, just whatever you can spare for this great initiative. Our team has been working very hard and we have already raised over $3000 in 7 days, so I’m excited to see where we can take this.

Furthermore, if you have a business and would like to make a corporate donation, I am offering a sidebar ad in my Movember Supporters section (until Dec 31st), as well as mentions in my upcoming Movember posts. We already have two wonderful sponsors in Tag Along Toys and Play It Again Sports Ottawa and I couldn’t be happier to have them on board!

Please feel free to contact me via email with any further questions and as always, Thank You so much for your time and donations! You are the driving force in the battle to change the face of men’s health!

Cheers!

Join The Canadian Dad’s Movember Team To Support Men’s Health!

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November has quickly become one of my favourite months of the year! Not just because of my birthday *ahem, November 14th* but also because of a yearly tradition called, “Movember”. What began as a small fundraiser out of Australia, has quickly turned into a global phenomenon and I’m all in!

Movember is an initiative started to raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and male mental health. Men around the world grow their moustaches while raising money for the cause. I’m not going to post my passport photo but let’s just say that it was taken during Movember and there was no way I was shaving that thing off before it’s time.

I don’t want to talk your ear off about it because there’s lots of time for that. What I want from you today is your upper lip. I’m looking to recruit as many MoBrotha’s and MoSista’s as I can, so we can put our faces and skills to work in raising money for this excellent initiative!

What I’m asking is that you visit our team page, Canadian Dad 2.012, and either signup as a MoBrotha or MoSista, or donate whatever you can to our team goal of $2000. Every little bit counts and on top of that, we get to have a lot of fun laughing at each other’s moustaches. And trust me, mine is ridiculous!

I always see so many teams of 3 or 4 guys, which is great, but I want to create a super team to rival all others! If we are going to put our faces on the line to be ridiculed in the name of raising money, we might as well be as big as possible and go for one of the many prizes up for grabs! C’mon, who’s with me!? We just signed Ottawa native, Mike Reynolds, who has a very cool MoTie shop on Etsy, that raises money for the cause. You can check it out at MoTies For Gals and Guys.

I just want to make it clear that our team is open to ladies as well, so please sign up and spread the good word of Movember! I am also planning a party here in Ottawa for later in November to celebrate our achievements and I can’t wait to see all the crazy Stache action!

Thank You for your time and I hope you’ll consider joining our team! Let’s have some fun with it as we help to raise awareness for men’s health! Please do not hesitate to ask any questions, I’m always here to help! Let’s Do It!

Cheers!