A mo-mentous achievement for Movember

I moustache you a question – when was the last time you spoke to the important men in your life about their mental health and wellbeing?

For the third year running, Queensland Metals employees have supported Movember, with Mount Isa Mines’ Health, Safety, Environment and Community (HSEC) team smashing their cumulative fundraising goal of $10,000.

Movember is an annual men’s health fundraising campaign, run in November to encourage difficult conversations between men, specifically on the topics of mental health, prostate cancer and testicular cancer.

The Melbourne-based initiative is now celebrated all over the globe.

You can support the movement by growing a mo’ or upping your step count for the month, and encouraging friends, family and colleagues to donate to the foundation.

Men are much less likely to make an appointment with a GP for medical concerns, which results in many unnecessary deaths globally.

Sadly, men account for over 70% of suicide cases worldwide and by 2030, the Movember movement is aiming to reduce premature death rates in men by 25%.

The Mount Isa Mines’ HSEC team have once again brought out their bristles and hit the pavement for this vital cause.

The ‘Mo bros’ showed their support by growing a moustache of their own, and the ‘Mo sisters’ brushed off their runners, pledging to walk or run at least 60 kilometres for the month.

Townsville’s Copper Refineries Limited (CRL) team also showed their support. Steven Amos, Nick Bell and Ryan Thorp, aka ‘The Pool Cleaners CSI’, joined the movement sporting some eye catching facial growth.

Fellow CRL employees got behind them at a morning tea held on the last day of the month, with everyone bringing along a plate to share and a gold coin donation to generate some last minute funds. An extra $66 was added to their overall online efforts, reaching their target of $1,000.

After the success of last year’s HSEC Movember breakfast barbeque, it was a no-brainer to host the event again this year.

Queensland Metals Manager - Health, Safety and Environment Strategy, Regulation and Assurance, Jason Jones says the MIM HSEC team takes great pride in supporting Movember each year.

“Every year the breakfast barbeque is a popular event, encouraging men to speak up about personal issues that they may think are not important.” Jason says.

“It’s a great social morning, raising funds for the cause and bringing everyone together to compare mo’s.”

“The barbeque had a fan-tache-tic turn out, with funds raised from the breakfast alone amounting to $673.”

This year, Mount Isa Mines’ Communications and Engagement Advisor, Jemma Schweikert took out the top fundraising achievement, raising $1,315 towards the cause. For her efforts, she won a well-deserved family Weber Q pack including a barbeque and accessories.

As a team, MIM’s HSEC department raised $4,277 for this year’s initiative.

Over the past three years, the Mount Isa Mines HSEC team have cumulatively raised $12,154, which has thoroughly exceeded the target each year.

As part of the November health initiative, ‘Everybody’s Health’, Mount Isa Mines is offering a free 20 minute GP consultation to all employees, available until the end of December.

The Movember fundraising efforts were further supported by the ManUp! tour, a roving educational awareness group, delivering talks around site on the causes, symptoms, and prevention of prostate cancer.

Congratulations to our dedicated employees who have spent the past month growing and moving to support the essential progress Movember is making in men’s mental health and wellbeing.