November is close to coming to an end, and with that, so is Movember.  

The annual initiative is held in 20 countries worldwide, where men grow out their mustaches to support awareness around men's health.

Locally, Kevin Wallis, Corporate Claims Manager with Portage Mutual, speaks about the insurance company's history with the month and initiative.  

"There's a group of us that have been doing this for over 11 years, and we started a Movember fundraising group. We call ourselves the 'Portage Mo Bros team,' and basically with that, we've been trying to raise funds for the last 11 years."  

Wallis explains the purpose of the campaign for men's health.  

"It's for awareness for men's health, especially the usual prostate cancer and cancers in general, and then it also focuses a lot on mental health. So, it's because most men also usually find out that they're less likely to talk about mental health because they consider it a weakness. It's designed to bring more awareness to it, to help cut down on suicide.  So, it's for mental health, suicide prevention and there is a focus also on prostate and testicular cancer."  

Kevin outlines the origins of the Portage Mutual Mo Bros. 

"Formed in 2011 with John Penner as our Captain, he was interested in participating as he had recently lost his brother, wanted to do something, and heard about Movember. Thus, asking if anyone else was interested in starting a team with him, we did."  

He says the team has always had about seven members: John Penner, Chris Pleasants, Randy Owens, Wayne Harris, David Crandell, Travis Smith, and himself (Kevin Wallis)  

Coming into this year, the Portage Mutual Mo Bros had raised $68,461.69, and when you add that on to this year's total being over $6,000, their funds raised since starting is now well over $70,000.

Wallis concluded that the group couldn't have raised this much without the support of others.  

"We are proud, however, still humble in that we could not accomplish this without the support and donors." 

To donate to the Portage Mutual Mo Bros, click here.