Play For Purpose is a not-for-profit raffle helping hundreds of great Australian causes supercharge their fundraising. As part of its support of community organisations, The Lott provides resources and financial support to every Play For Purpose raffle.

A lot can happen in a day. Around 600 new articles are added to Wikipedia, seven earthquakes and 18,000 storms occur around the world, and your heart beats an average of 100,000 times.  

In Australia, there will also be 38 adults diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. That’s one diagnosis every 40 minutes. 

Many Australians are surprised to learn that Parkinson’s affects more people than prostate and bowel cancer and is the second most common neurological disease after dementia.  

What’s more, 20% of people living with Parkinson’s are under 50 years old and 10% are diagnosed before the age of 40. Because it’s a progressive disease, their symptoms slowly worsen over time. 

So, what can we do about these statistics? 

Well, if you’re Clyde Campbell you establish the Shake It Up Australia Foundation — the county’s largest non-government funder of Parkinson's research.  

Clyde was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2009 at the age of 44. Two years later, he launched Shake It Up with one mission — to increase awareness and funding to find better treatments and ultimately a cure. 

While his diagnosis marked a significant life shift, in many ways it only strengthened Clyde’s entrepreneurial spirit. 

“It was a huge shock to myself. I’d been healthy all my life, I thought I’d be healthy until I was 70 or 80 without a problem. And then I was diagnosed with a disease I knew very little about,” Clyde said.  

“Initially it’s just shock that you’ve actually got a disease that’s incurable and will continue to get worse.  

“I can accept I’ve got the disease, even if I don’t like it. But the bigger question is what are we going to do about it. For me it’s crystal clear. We’re going to find a cure.” 

Almost a decade later and Shake It Up has co-funded over $11.5 million into Parkinson’s Research in Australia. The foundation has also partnered with the Michael J. Fox Foundation in the United States — a collaboration that has helped bring improved treatments and a landmark clinical trial to Australia.   

While the international partnership provides a model for success, 100% of all donations to Shake It Up are directed to medical research on home soil across 12 Australian research institutes.  

Australia has some of the world’s leading scientists specialising in Parkinson’s. What’s needed now, is financial assistance to keep this vital research running.  

It’s one of the reasons Shake It Up has joined forces with Play for Purpose and since November 2017 have fundraised more than $100,000 to support leading Parkinson’s research. 

Not only does Play for Purpose provide a fun way to support important causes like Parkinson’s research, but members of the community also have the chance to win amazing prizes. In the previous Play for Purpose draw, a Shake It Up supporter was the first prize winner, scoring $250k in cashable gold bullion.  

Finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease won’t happen in a day. But with continued support and funding, there is hope it can happen in our lifetime.  

Find out more about Shake It Up by visiting Play for Purpose.