Move for Movember

By Nadia Dimattina

The inaugural NAB Corporate Challenge last month encouraged local employees to move with Movember and raise awareness for men’s health.

More than 500 employees registered for the event, with many completing the challenge of 2000 laps of Etihad stadium.

Head of transactional banking at NAB, Martin Ross said NAB had been a partner with the Movember foundation since 2005.

“The reason why NAB employees are participating is because it aligns with many of our values around helping the community,” he said.

“As one of the senior leaders of NAB I wanted to show my support by being here and participating as well as using my volunteer day to give back to the community,” Mr Ross said.

Co-founder of Movember Foundation, Travis Garone, said the NAB Corporate Challenge event incorporated many goals of the foundation.

“You can get involved for the Movember foundation in three ways: by growing a moustache, hosting an event or taking the move challenge and NAB is doing all three,” he said.

He said NAB was a fantastic event partner promoting health and wellbeing for both men and women.

“Without NAB and without its reach around Australia and in rural areas in the country, Movember could not be what it is today,” Mr Garone said.

Country director for Movember Foundation, Charlotte Webb, said the event focused on the foundation’s new “Move for Movember” principle.

“The NAB corporate challenge is the way in which they want to encourage their staff to get moving, to get away from their desks and get physically active,” she said.

Movember Foundation launched the move challenge to encourage men who don’t want to grow a moustache along with women who want to get involved.

“Movember Foundation knows that physical activity is a really important part of staying mentally healthy. Mental health and suicide prevention is a really big focus of the foundation because the stats around male suicide are terrifying,” she said.

Ms Webb said NAB partnered with their foundation by hosting this event, to raise vital funds for men’s health.

“We are here today because it is partly about getting NAB staff motivated and moving and partly because it is a brilliant way to raise money for Movember,” she said.

The funds raised through events like the NAB Corporate Challenge go towards researching prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health and suicide prevention.

“The reason we choose those is that out of all of the realms of men’s health issues, we believe we can have the most impact in those areas,” Ms Webb said.

For more information on Movember visit https://au.movember.com/