Our fundraising hero this week is Ash, who is riding from Albany to Bunbury in January 2023 for Parkinson’s. Even though the ride is still a couple of months away, Ash has already raised over $8,000 for Parkinson’s through donations from his generous friends and family, and through local business sponsorship. Ash also has custom designed merchandise that you can purchase to support his ride and Shake It Up.
We spoke to Ash to hear more about his inspiration for fundraising and how you can get involved to help.
What inspires your commitment to a cure for Parkinson’s?
I am inspired by my Grandad, we all refer to him as (Da), and his battle with Parkinson’s disease. He is someone who I admire greatly and has always lived an active life, and is one of the hardest working people I’ve seen. I was motivated to raise funds to help find a cure after seeing how this disease affects people’s quality of life.
I have since had a number of people reach out to me with their own stories which gives me further motivation to make this a successful fundraising campaign in the hope that one day they will find a cure.
What are you doing to fundraise?
I will be undertaking a ride from Albany – Bunbury 340km along the way I will be stopping into some of the regional towns to try and collect donations with the help of my support vehicle that my Dad and one of my best mates Dylan will be driving and hopefully offering words of encouragement when things get challenging.
. I have managed to get 12 businesses onboard as sponsors to assist in raising funds. I also have a couple of fun things planned in the lead up to raise additional funds – custom designed merchandise, morning teas and a Sunday session upon return where we will have live music, raffles and an auction.
How can people help your fundraising?
People can either donate direct to my page or buy some merchandise from my Instagram page: @jakesappledesignco
