While 2020 was not our normal Pause 4 Parkinson’s campaign, we have been overwhelmed by the response from our supporters. And although many of us couldn’t host our Pause 4 Parkinson’s fundraising events, we were thrilled to hear from so many of you who hosted virtual fundraising events. This week, our heroes are the fundraisers who pushed through the global pandemic and thought up creative ways to fundraise for Pause 4 Parkinson’s 2020. Check out their stories!
The Clark’s Curry Night
As soon as the restrictions were announced in response to COVID-19, the Clark’s got thinking. They transformed their annual Pause 4 Parkinson’s Curry Night into a virtual event with take away curries available to order and an online stream of their raffle draw with family and friends. Debbie Clark said, “We purchased 200 takeaway containers and labelled the curries. Orders were taken and people could collect from our home, using the social distancing rules. We also had beautiful homemade Naan bread and sugar-coated fennel as a palette cleanser packaged in tiny bags. Interestingly, many who were unable to attend the original date were now able to make an order and enjoy the curries, as well as support the event. Initially, we were concerned that we would have lots of curry left over but the opposite was true! We were making additional curries every day for a week. We also received orders from friends’ neighbours and community members whom we didn’t know.” The Clark’s Online Curry Night was hugely successful, raising $2,655.
Barbara’s Online Fundraising
Barbara had initially planned a high tea with friends and family for Pause 4 Parkinson’s 2020 but when government restrictions began, Barbara chose to keep her fundraising page active for friends and family to donate. Overwhelmed with the response from her generous community, Barbara raised $1,140 over the month of April. Barbara said that the greatest personal reward from her fundraising was “The generosity of friends – known & unknown – in spite of the corona-cancelled event!” Well done, Barbara!
Love by the Moon Bracelets
Inspired by the struggle of a close friend with Parkinson’s, Alana used her small business platform to sell bracelets for Pause 4 Parkinson’s 2020, raising $520 for Parkinson’s research. We asked Alana what inspired her about Shake It Up and why she chose us as her charity for the bracelet sales. She said “When I first started looking into foundations to raise funds and support for Parkinson’s research, one thing in particular was extremely important to me. That the funds raised would all go towards research for Parkinson’s. After reading through the research and work Shake it up have already achieved, it made me feel so confident to choose Shake it up for my fundraiser.” We are so thrilled to have your support, Alana!
Shuffle 4 Parkinson’s
Although not an official Pause 4 Parkinson’s event, the Shuffle 4 Parkinson’s hosted by father-daughter powerhouse, Stephen and Kitty Duffield, is a big fixture of the April Parkinson’s calendar. The event pushed through the COVID-19 restrictions, converting to a virtual event where participants could run the 5km fun run or walk the 500m shuffle from anywhere in Australia. The event is still open for participation, with an extended finish date of 18 May. Stephen and Kitty did a fantastic job wrestling this event through challenging circumstances to raise $2,930 so far!
There are so many ways that you can make a difference and help advance research. Need some inspiration? Visit our ‘Getting Involved’ page.
