Maltese voluntary organisation Step Up for Parkinson’s has launched an account on crowdfunding platform Patreon, with the aim of reaching out to more people both in Malta and abroad through its creative movement classes – which are now also available online.
The organisation’s main aim is to improve the quality of life for people with Parkinson’s disease and their caregivers.
There are 1,415 people registered with Parkinson’s disease in Malta, which means, including their caregivers, there are just under 3,000 people affected by the disease.
“The account on Patreon is an extension of our service, which we can share with the whole world regardless of being located only in one place. This is what the NGO aims to be – a worldwide community,” says Step Up for Parkinson’s new project manager Karolina Mielczarek, who looks after the organisation’s day-to-day administrative activities and management and also teaches creative movement to people with Parkinson’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis.
Her main aim is to support the Parkinson’s community by being able to sustain the organisation, so it can continue its service indefinitely. Also, being a dancer herself, she hopes to use her “artistic mind” and skills to aid the organisation during the classes.
The NGO has been offering dance therapy since 2017, but it was only available in person, meaning that people with Parkinson’s disease had to physically attend the classes to participate, and ultimately have their quality of life improved.
Now, through the NGO’s presence on Patreon, the service is also available online.
“At a time when everything is digitalised, Step Up for Parkinson’s needs to be ‘trendy’ too. If we don’t progress and respond to the requirements of our times, then we cannot sustain the organisation,” Mielczarek says.
The NGO hopes to raise as much as is needed to sustain its nine classes per week – around $6,750 (€6,060) per month.
This is what the NGO aims to be – a worldwide community
“Of course, this is a lot of money, but this is our goal, and goals should be set high. For only $10 a month, people can have access to our classes from home and become members of the Step Up for Parkinson’s family,” she explains.
The organisation has been constantly looking for means to support its service. Having been helped by various funds and private donations so far, “we were very fortunate to be able to continue offering our classes for free. However, there is never enough, as the organisation is rapidly growing – from 15 participants in 2017 to 200 in 2019 – and we need more funds to cater for its increasing needs.”
“Patreon is important for Step Up for Parkinson’s, as this means we can have a monthly income that would help us continue giving these dance classes for free. I do not ever want to charge people. That is against my ethos,” founder Natalie Muschamp says.
The NGO’s presence on Patreon will help grow its members, not only those living in Malta but anyone across the globe willing to take part in its dance classes. “Really and truly, this is the idea behind the internet – to connect one another irrespective of where everybody lives,” Mielczarek adds.
“Our board member, Cassandra Straub, who knew about Patreon beforehand, suggested the platform to us. Furthermore, this crowdfunding platform is primarily intended for artists to build relationships, provide expertise and knowledge and develop their ideas with a larger public – subscribers called ‘patrons’.”
So far, Step Up for Parkinson’s has two ‘patrons’ living in Malta.
“The idea is to reach out to more of those seven to 10 million people living with Parkinson’s disease worldwide and help improve their quality of life, here and now,” Mielczarek notes.
www.patreon.com/stepupforparkinsons