It's time for beards

I want to talk about beards.  Not because I have one.  I don't.  But surely most men have wondered what they would look like with a beard?  And now is the time to try it out as Beating Bowel Cancer's Decembeard campaign has come round again - and this year it has a whole new look and a renewed momentum.

First, let me remind you of the campaign's origins.  Decembeard was established in the UK in 2011 after Chris Evans announced on twitter that he was going to take part in Decembeard as he’d missed Movember. Alison Selfe, a Beating Bowel Cancer supporter sadly no longer with us, immediately tweeted him back asking him to "do it 4 Beating Bowel Cancer", as she knew his father had died of the disease.  Chris Evans said "Deal" and the campaign was born.  I have to confess, like most men I suspect, I have always wondered what I would look like if I grew a beard and the chance to find out was too great. I immediately tweeted that I would join in.

My first ever beard - so proud!

The campaign has since has proved to be a huge success.  I make no apologies for the fact that it has raised money for us.  We can only do the work we do and help more people if we raise funds.  You only need to look at the transformation of Prostate cancer UK as a result of the many millions raised through Movember.  Greater public awareness of Prostate Cancer and the charity's ability to deliver more support to patients and families shows it's unarguable that fundraising does good.

For Beating Bowel Cancer, our Decembeard campaign has done something else.  It has got people talking and it has got bowel cancer a lot of attention.  That is good.  One of the frustrations expressed to me when I took over as Chief Executive in 2010 was that it was difficult to "cut through the noise", get ourselves heard and get attention for bowel cancer. So, every little helps and Decembeard is more than a little.  It is different.  It targets people who might otherwise ignore bowel cancer - men, particularly younger men.  It grabs people's attention just because it often uses humour.  Good charity communication is not about preaching or convincing people to be better or give more.  It is about making a connection and helping people "do good" in simple ways.

So, that is why we have worked hard to make Decembeard a big thing.  And the fact that it is big, and we hope will get a lot bigger, means we can do more as a charity.  We can go on funding the UK's only bowel cancer helpline, run by our fantastic nurses.  We can keep producing and distributing our accredited, vitally informative booklets and keep adding to them when we identify the need - such as the very recent one that addressed the anxieties people feel when waiting for their latest scan results, the "scanxiety" fact sheet.  We can keep holding the UKs, if not Europe's, largest meeting of bowel cancer patients, the annual Patient Day.  We can continue to make a noise about bowel cancer.  If we can make Decembeard bigger, very big, we can do big things.  We can reach more people, our nurses can support more people, we can run awareness campaigns to break the taboo that is bowel cancer. In short, we can beat bowel cancer in many more ways.

So, I am doing my beardy thing again!  I will be growing my stubble from 1st December, despite the fact that it really is not a very attractive look.  You can sponsor me here: Mark's Decembeard 2014.  I really am very grateful for your support.

But, why not go one better. Grow (or wear a false) a beard. Join in the fun and the fundraising.  Sign up to Decembeard at the fantastic new website. Remember - Real Men Grow Beards.