NSW pallet carrier, JATEC Transport, has joined the Movember campaign to support men’s health.
The family business runs a fleet of 15 prime movers, each of which are now displaying official Movember vehicle moustaches to raise awareness through Sydney and the greater metropolitan area.
For every load delivered, JATEC Transport will donate $5 to the ‘Movember’ campaign, an annual event involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November to raise awareness of men’s health issues, such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men’s suicide.
Company Founder Troy Barlow is a passionate advocate for men’s health.
“Dad came across a statistic that globally a man dies by suicide every minute of every day. That convinced him to get involved,” said Caitlin Barlow, JATEC Transport Business Development Manager.
“That’s an unacceptable number and Dad wanted to do something to combat that,” she said.
Mental health is an issue taken seriously at JATEC, a family business now into its second generation, where people are considered its most precious asset.
“Mental health in general doesn’t get enough attention,” Barlow told Prime Mover.
“By putting moustaches on all of our trucks driving around New South Wales hopefully that can drive more awareness and break the taboo of talking about health issues as a male,” she said.
“Our staff are really keen to get around it too. All of them are growing their moustaches. They’ve told us they think it’s a great idea. If we can get through to one person than it’s been a successful campaign.”
Through its corporate partners, suppliers and family and friends, JATEC has already exceeded its initial $10,000 target such has been the support that has flowed from the community.
It’s an impressive feat being the first time JATEC Transport has participated in the campaign.
They have set themselves a high benchmark going forward.
“We’d rather smash the target than not reach it,” said Barlow.
Major contributions have also been made by Volvo Group Australia, AMA Group and IVECO Sydney.
“There’s been some big donations from our corporate partners but we’re happy to say that there’s been plenty of donations from our family and friends, too,” said Barlow.
“We’ve had just as many personal donations as we have corporate,” she said.
JATEC has made a video for social media that highlights the drivers participating in ‘Movember’ and their early attempts at growing moustaches in keeping with the official ‘Movember’ moustache style guide.
Another video will be recorded at the end of the month to chart their progress with a prize bestowed upon the ‘best mo.’
“Everyone is onboard. Everyone supports the cause. They’re all more than happy to help out and do what they can to raise awareness,” said Barlow.
According to World Health Organisation figures, men are dying on average five years earlier than women, and for largely preventable reasons.
Males currently account for nearly 70 per cent of all suicides.
It’s a topic that has galvanised many in the community.
“Anything we can do to bring more awareness to the situation is important,” said Barlow.
“We will be continuing on and seeing how much we can raise in total.”
Update: JATEC Transport ended up raising a final total of $18,350 for November.
