Supporting Men's Health This Movember
Written by Team Clearcover
When Clearcover's CEO Kyle Nakatsuji challenged all team members to participate in our first Movember fundraiser last year, Clearcover-ers were quick to step up and raise money in a variety of ways including, of course, growing ever-more impressive moustaches. After exceeding our fundraising goal during our inaugural year, Clearcover once again participated in Movember to support a variety of men's health issues among them mental health, a subject at the center of Clearcover's culture, and men's cancer research which has an impactful meaning for several members of our team. During our month-long fundraising efforts, Clearcover-ers rallied together to give back at the onset of the holiday season and support one another along the way.
Movember raises money to fund projects focused on a variety of men's health issues including mental health and suicide prevention. Clearcover strives to support the mental health of all team members by presenting mental health workshops, offering a benefits package that includes one-on-one counseling for employees and their family members, and ensuring flexible scheduling. Movember's emphasis on funding projects for suicide prevention is especially important to Clearcover. Two years ago, Clearcover lost one of our own team members, Isaac Moldofsky, to suicide. All of our Movember fundraising efforts are dedicated to his memory.
During Movember 2021, we started out the month strong and surpassed our original fundraising goal in only four days. As an incentive to maintain that momentum, Kyle announced that, if we could reach a new goal by mid-November, he and COO Derek Brigham would pose for a photoshoot, sporting their full 'staches. In typical Clearcover fashion, we met and exceeded that goal, and this Step Brothers-inspired portrait commemorated our efforts.
After a tremendous first Movember, Clearcover-ers once again set out to grow moustaches, run or walk 60 miles (one mile for the 60 men lost to suicide across the country each hour), purchase the official Clearcover Movember hat from our swag store, or simply make a donation. As a reminder of our ongoing efforts, everyone had access to a special Zoom filter, promising a month of moustachioed meetings. To track 'stache progress, we encouraged all participants to post photos of their progress in our "Scrapbook" Slack channel. And, as one final incentive, Kyle and Derek promised another memorable photoshoot. This year's portrait theme?... A Night at the Roxbury!
Like last year, we started the month with a huge lead to our goal. On November 2nd, the Product and Tech department raised over $5,000 during their department-wide Zoom meeting. As a reward, Chief Product and Innovation Officer Adam Fischer shaved his beard live during the meeting.
For Data Analyst Chase Sommer, Clearcover's fundraising for Movember is especially impactful. While still an undergraduate at University of Iowa, Chase was diagnosed with testicular cancer. After surgery, he endured two months of aggressive chemotherapy treatment. For many years, Chase says that he pushed his memories of this grueling experience away. Now, after being in remission for seven years, he feels like he is ready to become a voice for people with cancer and for cancer research fundraising. From the moment he heard about Cleacover's Movember fundraising, he knew that he wanted to be part of the effort. Clearcover, he says, is the first company he has been a part of that has a culture of wanting to give back. Involvement by leadership like Adam's live shaving and Kyle and Derek's encouragement speaks to the nature of all Clearcover-ers. "It shows that people at Clearcover are grounded," Chase says. "You feel like you're part of a group of people that cares."
By the end of the month, Clearcover-ers raised over $10,000 for Movember. And, as promised, Kyle and Derek channeled their inner Butabi brothers in a photo shoot that is destined to live on in Clearcover history!
From the highest levels of leadership, Clearcover's is a culture of people who care. If this sounds like a team you would like to be a part of, we invite you to look at our open positions and apply today.
