Yippee Skippee!  It’s the 1st!  The day every month that I look forward to with the most excitement and anticipation on It’s Just Life because it is all about the Comments for a Cause.  You know you want to jump up and down with me so go ahead—-take a hop and know that I am hopping up and down with you.

October was a fabulous month and it allowed me the opportunity to make a new friend, Ozzie, and find a new place to direct our donation love for the month.  I was thrilled to see all that our local food bank, Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank has to offer clients in their new facility.  If you missed my post with my interview with Ozzie just click here and it will take you to a new window.  I am thrilled to announce that we will be making a donation of $265 to Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank thanks to all your wonderful comments during the month.  Thank YOU!

This is one of my favorite pictures of our oldest son, Micah.  Wasn’t he just adorable?  I know I might be biased.

Micah is now 29 and an MBA graduate student at Columbia University.  One of the things that he has done in the past is participate in Movember and this year he will again sprout the facial hair in support of men’s health. His goal, as stated on his Movember page is :

To grow a cancer-fighting Tom Selleck moustache, have some laughs, raise awareness for men’s health, and hopefully fundraise a couple of dollars along the way.

I promised him I would support him and it seemed like a great Comments for a Cause for November.  For every legitimate comment on any post during the month of November Chris and I will donate 50 cents to Micah’s personal Movember fundraising efforts..  If you would like to donate a little on your own I am sure he would appreciate it.  You can click here to go directly to his fundraising page.

According to the Movember Foundation United States website there are several main reasons for the state of men’s health today:

1.Lack of awareness and understanding of the health issues men face
2.Men not openly discussing their health and how they’re feeling
3.Reluctance to take action when men don’t feel physically or mentally well
4 Men engaging in risky activities that threaten their health
5.Stigmas surrounding mental health
6.Men are 24 percent less likely than women to have visited a doctor within the past year

The Movember movement is a big step in the right direction.  Having lost a father in law to prostate cancer it has become very real to our family and I am so proud of both of our boys for the way they have stepped up to support this movement. ( Aaron is a donor, not a grower, this year. )

I learned quite a bit by cruising around the website and found some more information that I believe is pertinent to share with you.  I think their words are powerful.

As a global men’s health movement, the Movember Foundation has the ambition to contribute to improving the lives of men around the world. To achieve this, we challenge men to grow moustaches during Movember (the month formerly known as November) to spark conversation and raise funds for prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health problems. We see success as moving the dial on progress towards:
Reduced mortality from prostate, testicular cancer and men’s suicide
Men living with prostate or testicular cancer being physically and mentally well
Men and boys understanding how to be mentally healthy and taking action when they experience mental health problems
Men and boys with mental health problems not being discriminated against

This is a cause I think we can all get behind, don’t you?  I will chronicle Micah’s facial hair growth here occasionally over the month.  I am sure you can’t wait.  He grows a pretty fiercesome beard.

*All information regarding Movember and men’s health was taken from the Movember Foundation US website.