Milton resident Kevin Farmer decided to put his musical skill – and physical endurance – to the test recently ,with the goal of raising money to combat Parkinson’s Disease.
Farmer hosted a live stream in late August in which he played drums for 12 consecutive hours. The virtual charity event was dubbed “Drums for Parkinson’s” and encouraged donations towards Parkinson’s Canada.
The drummer initially set a target of raising $5,000, but ended up smashing through that marker and raising over $10,000. Farmer has long been an advocate of Parkinson’s research, having marched in the Parkinson Canada SuperWalk event for a decade after his father was diagnosed by the disease. According to Farmer, his father encouraged the stream after initial misgivings:
“At first I think my dad thought I was a bit crazy for playing for 12 hours straight. Actually, I think everyone thinks I’m a bit crazy. [...] Now that he’s seeing how much money I’m raising, he’s very happy! And he’s calling me every day to talk about it.”
The stream also featured giveaways to those who donated more than $25. The top prizes included drums, practice pads, Gift Certificates to music stores, and T-Shirts.
This year has seen many charitable endeavours adopt new formats such as virtual events and live streams. These events can be advertised through means like poster printing as well as social media outreach.
Drums for Parkinson’s took place on August 30 and was broadcast via Farmer’s Facebook page.
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