Liverpool John Moores University has announced plans to raise £20k this month for men’s mental health charity, Movember.
It all kicks off on Saturday with a student versus staff football match taking place at Marine’s ground, Rossett Park. There is a £5 entry fee, with 400 to 500 people expected to attend, so day two of the month may get the University off to a £2,500 start.
Miles Craven, a student at the University, is LJMU’s Movember Foundation Ambassador said: “The topic of men’s mental health is such a key conversation to be having around each other nowadays and working hard to break this stigma is something we hold valuable to our hearts at LJMU.
“We plan on achieving (the £20k goal) by having a strong month throughout, highlighting consistent events taking place across November.”
Last year the University raised over £14,000 with the Cricket Club raising over 5 grand.
Josh Darley, the President of LJMU Cricket, and charity enthusiast, said: “We were all shocked when we got to £5k in the last few days of November last year. I think Cricket has got so on board with Movember is because we have seen first-hand the effect that poor mental health can have.”
“As such a tight-knit group, we want everyone to show others that people can talk and be open with their emotions.”
LJMU’s biggest contributors don’t plan on slowing down this year either. Josh said: “Cricket are always full of plans. We have our quiz which will hopefully become a yearly thing beyond Miles and I leaving University. There are also challenges at different money milestones, such as keeping the moustache beyond November, or running a half-marathon around our Student Life Building.
“I think growing a moustache is a really cool idea, and an easy conversation starter, and I can only see Movember continuing to grow.”
In Europe alone, Movember raised £21 million last year, and in the UK its ranked as the 74th most popular charity, above even the likes of Christian Aid and Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
