Truebeck Construction in Top Ten Donors Nationally For Movember Foundation
In 2003, 30 men in Australia took a challenge to bring back moustaches as a fashion trend. What once started as a fun social experiment quickly developed into one of the largest foundations for supporting men’s health across the world, The Movember Foundation.
Each year in the month of November, the Movember Foundation enlists millions of men into a moustache-growing army with the goal to raise funds for men’s health.
For the past five years, Truebeck Construction has been a part of that growing movement, and Truebeck finds itself at the forefront of donations each year. But this year was different from all others. Out of the past five years, Truebeck raised its highest amount yet, $42,132. This placed Truebeck as the seventh highest donor to the Movember Foundation on a national level.
How did this all come about? To begin, Truebeck Construction has a vested interest in the Movember cause. In 2017, a study conducted by the National Association of Women in Construction found that just over 98 percent of the construction industry was male. From our own team to the trade partners we work with, the men in our lives are a core part of who we are, and many of our fathers, brothers, sons, uncles, and grandfathers struggle with health problems that often go unchecked.
Unique challenges men face like prostate cancer are notoriously underfunded. In 2012, men’s health was ranked 36th for federal government research funding and often men’s health only receives 24 percent the amount women’s health research receives. Further, mental health is deteriorating. There has been a 21 percent increase in suicide among boys and men from 2000 to 2016 according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
To combat these growing trends, Movember reaches out and asks individuals to come together as teams to contribute funds and raise awareness—all through growing a moustache. Truebeck assembled its team in partnership with 95.7 The Game, the best sports radio station in the Bay Area.
In the past five years, Truebeck has raised an average of $22,500 each year for the cause with a total of over $112,000. This year, Truebeck nearly doubled that amount by raising $42,132.
Swept up in this tide of fundraising was Caroll Moya—one of Truebeck’s Senior Estimators. “I’ll give it a try this year,” she said. “My goal was to get just one donation, just $20.”
By the end of Movember, Moya raised over $6,000 in donations from friends, family, colleagues and business partners.
Moya was the only female on Team Truebeck and as a result she became the women of Truebeck’s representative. A large part of the donations came from her construction sisters. “I was overwhelmed by the significant number of women who support men’s health. The men are pretty important to us,” Moya said.
Truebeck hosts a Movember awards event every year where all participants gather, receive awards, and enjoy an evening in celebratory success. This year was different. There were the usual party decorations, food and drink, and goofy moustaches mixed with laughs and cheers, but the echoes of the night resonated back something more. It was a feeling of pride, the kind of pride you feel when you finish a long race or conquer a tall mountain.
The event itself was themed after the Oscars and was aptly called the Moscars. A panel of judges assessed each moustache-touting attendee and selected winners for categories based off famous movie characters like White Goodman from Dodgeball and Inigo Montoya from Princess Bride.
Todd Ahern, Truebeck’s Chief Estimator, serves as Master of Ceremonies (MC) and is joined by one of 95.7 The Game’s radio hosts. This year Lorenzo Neal, four-time Pro Bowl player and three-time All-Pro fullback in the National Football League (NFL), stood beside Ahern.
“The show Todd puts on is always entertaining,” shared Kathy Reiner. “It’s clear he’s passionate about the cause and the event. It makes the night memorable.”
The highlight of the evening came when a large check received the signature that sealed 2019 as Truebeck’s best year for Movember fundraising.
But the spectacles of the night were not done yet. The three champions who raised the most were invited onto the stage where Lorenzo Neal waited, his arm stretched out across a table, daring the three to beat him in an arm-wrestling contest.
“I’m pretty sure his arm was bigger than my head,” Caroll Moya laughed.
One by one the contenders approached and with a crowd amped up, construction professionals pitted their strength against one of professional football’s strongest athletes. Biceps bulged, sweat glistened, and only the final contestant, Moya, could take down the goliath that is Lorenzo Neal.
While the entertainment only lasted the night, the impact of so many sacrificing their time and resources to support men’s health will be felt far longer. Even though this year was a tremendous success the real victory has yet to be seen. Across the world, men continue to struggle with health problems and as long as Truebeck stands, there will always be an ally in the fight for men’s health.
Todd Ahern, MC for the event and Chief Estimator with Truebeck said, “The enthusiasm of Team Truebeck, along with the generosity of our friends and colleagues continues to blow me away. Every year I think ‘How are we gonna do better than this’, and every year the team exceeds my expectations in their efforts to raise the bar for men’s health.”
Truebeck Construction was the number one general contractor nationwide in supporting Movember.
