Maovember Is Back! We Mustache You to Join In

It’s the time of year again when Beijing barflies gather to have fun for a good cause. Yes, Movember is back and features a number of events at local pubs and eateries with the aim of raising funds for the Library Project and Bread of Life Bakery. 

Co-founded in 2011 by lifestyle blogger Jim Boyce (of Beijing Boyce and The Grape Wall of China fame) the goodwill campaign aims to put on a series of fun events at a handful of Beijing watering holes and then donate the proceeds to worthy charities. 

This year, the good times kick off with a Nov 1 launch party at XL. That will be followed throughout the month by other events like a pub crawl of canine-friendly bars for you and man’s best friend, a Q Mex Charity Quiz, a Schnappsfest at Groovy Schiller's, Thanksgiving at Caravan, a party at WE Brewery in Tianjin, the closing party at Paddy O'Shea's, and more.

Jane Cui of XL says she’s eager to participate, in part because she likes to support charities and also because she loves working with Boyce and other coordinators on the event. Boyce adds that he’s happy to see more and more Chinese participants in the campaign in recent years, instead of the foreigner majority that dominated the first couple of iterations. 

Steve Wang, founder of WE Brewery in Tianjin, agrees and adds that "There is a culture gap between local and foreigners. Locals think charity is purely about donating money, and they don't understand that while doing charity work, people can still have fun. That's why I think more and more locals got involved in Maovember nowadays."

Aside from all that socially conscious celebrating, Boyce tells us that he’s also looking forward to donating the raised funds to the Library Project and Bread of Life Bakery. Participants will remember that these are the same recipients Boyce chose last year, mainly because of their practical approaches and their transparency. After last year’s Maovember, for instance, the Library Project not only provided reading materials and furniture for a library for migrant school children but also purchased audio and video equipment for those students.

Bread of Life, meanwhile, is a bakery that trains and employs orphans and used last year’s Maovember proceeds to purchase a mixer, a refrigerator room motor and, most beneficial of all, a delivery truck with a coveted Beijing license plate (which you can read more about here). “We like to see something tangible with our efforts,” Boyce says of donating to those charities, both of which provided receipts and other documentation for the sake of transparency. Boyce finds it rewarding to help those organizations, and also says he enjoys gathering with like-minded Beijingers to have a few drinks and laughs while raising funds.

That sentiment was echoed by Paddy O'Shea's manager Paul Rochon. He calls Maovember as "a very clear and original charity event. I like the fact that it teams up Beijing's F&B scene and shows that this industry has always been cooperative. I also like that Maovember creates fun and original events enjoyed by our consumers. And I like that we make all the donations very traceable and you can physically see where your money went."

Check out the full schedule for Maovember events here.

Photos courtesy of Jim Boyce