Printify donates funds to support the Movember Latvia movement
For nearly 20 years, November has been dedicated to Movember around the world, with the aim of drawing public attention to men’s health. Since the movement’s beginnings, its symbol has been the moustache, grown by thousands of men throughout the month to raise awareness of this important issue. This year, the custom-printing company Printify showed its support for the Movember movement for the fourth time by inviting its male employees to join the month-long moustache-growing challenge and thereby provide assistance to the local Movember Latvia foundation. As usual, the company donated funds to the foundation for each campaign participant, and this year the total amount allocated to charity exceeded €2,100.
The Movember Latvia foundation has been operating since 2015. Through various informational and educational activities, it provides much-needed support to prostate cancer patients, breaks down the most widespread stereotypes that still prevail among men, and informs the public about the need to have their health checked and encourage others to do the same. Throughout the year, and especially in November, the foundation’s founder and head, Helmuts Bēķis, with the support of Latvian doctors and health organisations, promotes men’s understanding of how to take preventive care of their health and what to do in the event of a cancer diagnosis so that it can be treated successfully in a timely manner without diminishing men’s quality of life. Men in the Baltic states live, on average, 10 years less than women; however, it is important to note that by raising public awareness of these processes, many causes of death can nowadays be prevented.
As part of Movember this year, more than 70 Printify employees from Latvia and other countries around the world took part in the movement’s activities and grew moustaches, which they captured at the end of the month in creative, humorous photographs. As the company grows, the number of campaign participants and interest in ways to support the Movember movement also increase each year. Therefore, alongside the discussions about men’s health held within the company, at the end of the month Printify employees were also given the opportunity to attend an informative online lecture by Movember Latvia to learn more about the foundation’s activities to date, its prostate health campaigns and future plans, and to receive answers to their questions on the subject.
“By growing moustaches, we create an environment in which we jointly encourage conversations about men’s health and timely disease prevention. We started this movement within the Printify team four years ago, and at that time there were only 12 of us. A year later, we took it much more seriously, wanting to create a positive impact in the wider community. That is how the donation initiative among the company’s male employees began, and we continue it actively every year. We want to involve as wide a circle of people as possible, which is why we organise the moustache-growing activity with a light-hearted sense of humour, inviting each participant to capture their moustache in lasting photographs at the end of the month. The most creative photograph is awarded a symbolic trophy. In our view, this helps people look at this serious issue from another perspective, while also fostering team unity and positive emotions within the company. We are proud that this year, too, we can support the Movember Latvia foundation by helping create informational materials in Russian, enabling them to reach an even wider audience,” comments Printify multimedia specialist Emīls Jasūns.
