Dubbo businessman Darren Semmler is doing his part to raise awareness of men’s health by participating in Movember.
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Darren, who works at G.J. Gardner Dubbo has taken up the challenge with more than 85 other G.J. Gardner Home franchises across Australia to help raise a total $100,000 for the movement.
His aim is to raise $2,000 to contribute towards the national total and when Fairfax Media spoke to him on Wednesday he said he was about halfway towards his goal.
This is the first time Darren has participated in Movember and he has also been able to get fellow G.J Gardner employee Joe Simpson on board.
“I promised my wife when we got married that I would never grow a beard or moustache. But for Movember we made an adjustment,” he laughed.
Mr Semmler said he knows family and friends who have been affected by cancer, and his best mate has been affected by prostate cancer.
“It’s a cause that really hits home for me,” he said.
Darren said because he has never had a beard or moustache before he mos has been able to spark conversations about Movember and the aim of promoting men’s health and mental health.
“Mental illness is also a big thing with men these days. Oftentimes we have a lot of trouble talking about issues,” he said.
Research undertaken by Deakin University for organisation MATES in Construction shows construction workers are more than twice as likely to suicide as other people in Australia, representing an average of 182 deaths per year, or one suicide every second day.
“The Movember Foundation does an amazing job of encouraging men to talk about mental and physical health issues with their mates and colleagues and to seek help if they need it,” Darren said.
“That’s why this year two of our staff are growing a Mo and the whole team is getting behind them to support this great cause.”
There are three ways people can contribute to Darren’s Mo growing effort:
· Donate online at http://mobro.co/13340118.
· Call in to the local office at 118 Erskine Street Dubbo.
· Or, write a cheque to 'Movember' referencing Darren’s registration ID (13340118) and mail it to: Movember, PO Box 60, East Melbourne, VIC 8002, Australia.