Grow it goofy is his strategy. That way people will ask, and when they do, awareness is raised.
At least that’s how Tyler Drevitch goes about raising funds for the “Movember” Foundation, and this year he’s concentrating on raising mental health awareness. The foundation promotes the “Movember” event – and the growing of mustaches – to raise money to boost awareness of men’s health issues.
He’s been a “Mo Bro” for three years now.
“It’s really cool that so many of my teammates join in because the more money we raise, the more awareness we can raise, and that’s what’s more important than anything else,” said Drevitch, a forward with the Wheeling Nailers. “It’s a fun way for us to make people think about a very serious issue in our society, and when that happens, hopefully, people discuss the issues and maybe someone will get the help they need when that happens.
“You can’t always see someone’s mental health and how they are doing,” he explained. “It’s a big thing and that’s why you’ve seen people be so much more open about it in the past few years. In every corner of life, people are battling the issues they have, and they deserve our support.
More than 50 percent of all Americans will be, at some point during their lives, diagnosed with a mental illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“It’s very likely that you have no idea that someone close to you is experiencing some issues,” Drevitch said. “In some cases, they are battling themselves and even their best friend or spouse might not ever know. That’s why I want people to know it’s OK to ask for help. Have a conversation with someone because it’s going to help, trust me. Take someone close to you to battle with you.”
“My goal was to raise $500 last year, and I ended up raising a total of $700, and that was great and very much appreciated,” he said. “So far this year I have raised about $300 and it usually picks up toward the end of the month, and that’s a very good thing because this year’s goal is to get to $1,000 raised.”
Team Effort
But here’s the problem … not every Wheeling Nailer can grow a mustache.
“Yeah, but the peach fuzz is cute,” Drevitch said with a healthy giggle. “They’ll get there one day.”
The Nailers, now 5-7 and in fourth place in the ECHL’s Central Division, will play the Indy Fuel on Thanksgiving Eve (7:10 p.m.) and Toledo this Sunday (4:10 p.m.) at Wesabanco Arena. The fans in attendance will be reminded of Drevitch’s fundraiser and he hopes they will support him as well.
“The fans supported me last year through donations, but I’m really hoping they grow crazy mustaches, too,” he said with a snicker. “It’s hard to tell on the ice, but I do hope they are having fun with it so people ask about it. When that happens, that’s when we can explain it and that spreads awareness all over the place.
“It’s all about getting people to talk about it because, for far too long, people have only whispered about things related to mental illness because they’ve been embarrassed. Well, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about at all,” Drevitch said. “All the fans have to do is find the link I have online and that’s how they can donate to what we’re doing.”
His “Mo Bro” profile states, “$50 can help prepare a man with a plan on how and when to reach out to a friend who’s struggling with their mental health through the Movember Conversations program.”
“I want to try to double it every year, so we’ll see if I am successful,” Drevitch insisted. “Almost half of the team is in on it this year and that’s really a cool thing because I believe mental illness is something that touches all of our lives.
“We may not talk about it much, but it’s inevitable these days, I believe,” he added. “So, if we can get someone that help by growing crazy facial hair, why not do that?”
