November is time for many things. Some people are already looking forward to Christmas, while our American neighbours are just getting ready for turkey dinner. Meanwhile, at the Columbia Valley RCMP detachment, it’s Movember — mustache month — and a time for detachment members to give back to the community, all while looking their best.

“Basically all the guys here support any kind of funding that we can do for cancer research,” Staff Sgt. Marko Shehovac said. “I don’t think you really have to have a reason for doing it.”

After the traumatic loss of his mustache to the cruel Movember barbers last year, Shehovac will forgo shaving his whiskers off again this year,

“I missed it too much,” Shehovac said. “It was too traumatic.”

Instead he’s offering a different motivation for his constables, who will also be growing out their nose-neighbours in a show of support.

This year, if the detachment is able to raise over $2,000 for their Movember campaign, Shehovac will have his hair streaked with the RCMP colours of red, yellow, and blue. To help further that goal, they have set up a website at http://mobro.co/columbiavalleyrcmp, where members of the community can donate to their campaign. Overall, Movember funds raised in Canada support men’s health issues, specifically prostate cancer.

“I think probably everybody who’s been around long enough knows somebody who has either passed away from cancer, or has cancer,” Shehovac said. “It’s just an opportunity for members of the detachment to contribute back to the community.”

David Thompson Secondary School isn’t going to be left behind either, as students from the leadership class have organized a Movember campaign of their own at the local highschool. All month, students will be looking to raise awareness with a number of activities including bake sales, Blue Day (where everyone wears the colour blue to school in support of prostate cancer research), and are also looking to get the Columbia Valley Rockies involved in some capacity as well.

“There’s a lot of kids who can’t grow mustaches, so we thought Blue Day would be another way for them to show their support,” said Grade 11 student Samantha Tyrell.

For anyone unfamiliar with Movember (or November, as it’s formally known), the month is a chance for men to grow out their mustaches to show support and solidarity for prostate cancer research. For more information, visit the Movember Canada website at ca.movember.com.