7 December

This is Me marks Movember alongside BNY Mellon

The month of November sees those of us that live and work in The City moving around with ever increasing layers of clothing to keep out the wind that tends to whip along the street of the square mile.

At the same time, the annual arrival of the moustache signals that Movember is in full swing once more. Beginning with an untrimmed lip but ending with something any seventies TV detective would be proud of, this bit of fun carries a serious message behind it. The charity initiative aims to tackle two prominent types of male cancer and male mental health.

It is estimated that 60 men die by suicide every hour globally with suicide remaining the most common cause of death for men under 50 in the UK with 74% of all deaths by suicide being men (Samaritans 2021).

This year, Movember asked participants to commit to 60km of walking or running to increase their activity levels, reconnect with the outdoors, get moving and encourage loved ones to do the same.

The link between mental and physical health is well documented; a more active lifestyle can help support our overall health and wellbeing. With ever increasing workloads and better equipped offices that are more enjoyable places to spend time, it is easy to slip into a more sedentary lifestyle, one that can begin to have a negative impact on ourselves.

The Lord Mayor’s Appeal team got involved, joining numerous other organisations in walking and running as well as using the month as an opportunity to reconnect with hobbies and activities that benefitted our mental health with everything from gym workouts to knitting.

We were inspired by our colleagues at BNY Mellon, who in addition to supporting the foundation through education events on men’s cancer and men’s mental health, set up an internal #sixtysomething campaign. They wanted to have an inclusive challenge that people could take part in and raise funds beyond the moustache growing!

They asked colleagues to ‘do something 60’.  This included 60 press-ups, reading a book for 60 minutes, entertaining a pet for 60 minutes, swimming 60 lengths of the local pool or eating 60 breadsticks.  It didn’t matter, as long as the focus was on 60.  The team at BNY have done a fantastic job, raising almost £4,500 for the charity through the month of November.

The Lord Mayor’s Appeal This is Me Initiative will be hosting a range of in person and virtual events next year designed to help organisations support the wellbeing of their teams, hearing from subject matter experts and sharing best practice with peers as we cover a range of topics within the workplace wellbeing space.

Our next This is Me in person event is on 21 February 2024, contact thisisme@thelordmayorsappeal.org to find out more