From burpees to bowling, our Shake It Up community is constantly inspiring us with the ways they choose to take personal passions and turn them into a chance to make a difference for others. We spoke with Rob about his upcoming lawn bowls fundraising event to raise funds for research, connect with others in the Parkinson’s community and create change for future generations.
Hi Rob! Tell us all about Bowl Parkinson’s Over. How did you come up with the idea?
I have always been involved in competitive sport. Football and cricket as a junior, volleyball and cricket at a senior level and then socially, tennis, baseball, golf and now lawn bowls and as of 2024, pickleball! I trained as a Physical Education Teacher although I only taught for 10 years, the benefits of activity have always been a high priority for me. Having lived with Parkinson’s Disease since 2014, I wanted to do something to help in combatting the affliction and seeing that I was involved in bowls, a bowls competition day seemed to be a logical way to go about it. I approached my local bowls club, Heathmont BC, in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne and I decided on “2 bowl triples” which means that each team is a threesome and each bowler has 2 bowls (a reasonably common format) – 126 competitors on the day. Bowl Parkinson’s Over just seemed to be a good name. I hope the day raises awareness of Parkinson’s and get people talking and sharing. I also hope to raise a decent sum of money to go to Shake It Up Australia Foundation. Bowls is a strong community. A great place to work together. Bowls is such an inclusive, doable activity.
What benefits do you see from bowling (and other types of exercise)?
I think physical activity for those living with PD is vitally important. It is not only important for the body but is also fantastic for the brain. The tendency is to sit, but activity although it can be difficult at times, helps in so many ways – you feel more tired at the end of the day and hopefully sleep better, it mobilises joints, helps with weight control and makes the brain work in different ways. I have found boxing to be spectacular in being active, using my brain to hit with different sequences or patterns and even greater brain stimulation by adding in a secondary task whilst hitting the bag – saying days of the week forwards and backwards, months of the year forwards and backwards, counting etc. I love my twice weekly boxing class. Nothing better than punching a bag… but it is so much more than that.
What inspires you to make a difference in support of Parkinson’s research?
My daughter, Amy is on board as an ambassador for Shake It Up and hosts the Shake It Up Show, organised a comedy show and ran a half marathon to raise funds for Parkinson’s research. Other people have done amazing things, the funds from which benefit so many people, and I felt that I could contribute by organising my own fundraiser. What I have found is that the disease has affected so many people and in general, they are willing to help.
It is inspiring to read the stories of what others have done and are doing to raise money for the Shake It Up Foundation, but years of sport has taken its toll on my joints. I have had a knee and a hip replaced recently and would dearly love to undertake some of the physical activities about which we read on the website, but I just am not capable of doing those things any more. But what I could do is organise a bowls charity day. So here I am organizing a lawn bowls competition supporting the Shake It Up Australia Foundation to help with their goal to slow, stop and cure Parkinson’s disease. It is largely too late to reverse the effect for me, but hopefully researchers can find ways to have an effect on Parkinson’s disease for everyone moving forward, especially our children and grandchildren.
Any advice for someone else wanting to start their own fundraising event?
I would encourage anyone and everyone to contemplate a fundraiser. Give yourself plenty of time, engage some helpers and you would be surprised how many people will help and probably have a closer relationship to PD than you might think. So many of the teams entering have expressed a connection with Parkinson’s. Together we are stronger! Also, engage the resources at Shake It Up to help along the way. I would love to see “Bowl Parkinson’s Over” become an annual national event.
To learn more about Rob’s story, support his fundraiser or get involved in Bowl Parkinson’s Over, click here.
For the month of October only, a generous Shake It Up supporter has agreed to donate an additional $100 for EVERY new monthly donor sign up during October, until we reach our goal of 100 new monthly donors!
Our community of regular donors are vital for Shake It Up to confidently plan ahead and commit to funding new, world-leading Parkinson’s research right here in Australia, in partnership with The Michael J. Fox Foundation. 100% of all donations go directly to research, so you know you’re making a real difference.
