Jesmond Businesses Back Students' £110,000 Movember Drive

Plenty of Jesmond's student sports clubs will be sporting moustaches this month, and some of the neighbourhood's businesses are helping them turn it into serious money. Sports clubs at Newcastle and Northumbria universities are aiming to raise a combined £110,000 for the men's health charity Movember, and local firms are pitching in with T-shirts and haircuts.

Local businesses lending a hand

Piranha Print on Osborne Avenue has printed more than 3,000 custom Movember T-shirts for Newcastle University sports clubs over a three-year partnership, with about £7 from each shirt going to the charity. It expects around 2,000 more orders this month, worth an estimated £14,000 to the cause.

Barbers have joined in too. Jesmond Barbers and Nord Barbershop have both hosted charity shave-down events, offering discounted haircuts in return for donations, with the option of having Movember's moustache symbol shaved into your hair. Barbershops are a natural fit: the campaign focuses on men's mental health, and a chair at the barber's is often where those conversations start.

The targets

• Newcastle University clubs raised £57,882 last year and are aiming for a record £60,000
• Northumbria University raised £21,103 last year and has set a £50,000 target, with 50 teams signed up so far

Dates for your diary

The most visible event for Jesmond residents is Northumbria's Run The Distance, a 60km challenge at Exhibition Park on Saturday 14 November. Runners meet at Wylam Brewery at 7.45am and complete a 5km run every hour through the day, with the final leg at 8pm. Expect plenty of runners on the park paths and a good cause to cheer on.

Other fundraisers include returning 24- and 48-hour running challenges around Jesmond, a Northumbria Students' Union quad day on 23 November, and a Newcastle medics' five-a-side tournament at Powerleague Gateshead on 26 November. Northumbria's campaign ends with its Mo Awards on 29 November.

How to support

You can donate through Movember or follow the campaigns on Instagram at Movember Newcastle and Movember Northumbria. The story was first reported by JesmondLocal. If you are due a trim anyway, our guide to the best barbers in Jesmond has more local options.

If you are struggling, Samaritans are available day or night on 116 123.

Running a fundraiser in Jesmond? Get in touch.