This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at U Vic chapter.
Evan (aka. Slev) Garfinkel is a fourth year urban geography major with a passion for community involvement. Originally from Toronto, Ontario, Evan moved to Victoria in search of a degree, inspiration and some amazing West Coast experiences. Fast forward to present day and Evan is a Senior Community Leader in Residence and heading the Residence Movember campaign. While free-time can be sparse, Evan still finds time to play Squash and scale mountains.
Evan first became interested in the Movember campaign back in high school where his school had strict rules against growing facial hair. You could definitely say he saw Movember as his doorway to a moustache. Once arriving at Uvic, however, Evan really started looking into the campaign and its goals. It was here that his passion for men’s health was ignited.
In previous years, Evan’s fundraising efforts have been astounding. Taking a cue from some of his CLs, in his second year of university, Evan introduced a shaving cream pie contest where people could donate money to pie him in the face. In his third year, Eva began challenging his residents to donate $1 each. With a building of approximately 300 residents, this raised around $300, showing that a small act can make a huge impact. In addition, Evan’s individual efforts and outstanding presence in the res cafe, handing out swag and awareness posters, has managed to raise $1000!
For this year’s campaign, Evan has focused his efforts on organizing the Movember team and coaching this year’s CLs on their fundraising efforts. He is really proud of all the money and awareness that has been raised so far but is definitely interested in going even bigger. Evan would love to see the Movember campaign develop into a campus wide event, with the participation of different departments, Vikes Nation, and Reslife. He has also expressed interest in a group shave at the end of the month (although he realizes there might be a few
health concerns there).
Evan believes that the Movember campaign is not only an opportunity for people to get involved in their community but a real chance to spread awareness about men’s mental health and to take a stand against cancer. If you’re interested in more information about the campaign or wishing to donate to the Movember Foundation, click here.