Big news! Here are the first two beneficiaries of the funds raised from the sales of the Exquisite Warriors limited edition artist book. All gross proceeds from the sale of this deluxe, limited-edition artist book will be donated to organizations supporting women with Parkinson’s Disease. I am personally paying for all printing and production costs plus dealer commissions so that 100% of all sales can be donated. So, here’s the math: 25 books x $500 each = $12,500 raised! Each of the three organizations that support women with Parkinson’s Disease will receive $4,000 each. Those organizations are:

Twitchy Woman is a fantastic support for women with Parkinson’s. Being a disease usually thought of as for old men, this group was very much needed. Sharon Krischer (one of the warriors in the book) started a blog and in-person support group in her LA neighborhood a few years ago and when the pandemic started she took it virtual and has attracted women from around the world for two to three Zoom talks per month on topics ranging from the effects of hormones on PD medications to the importance of exercise to makeup adaptations for tremoring hands. Sharon and her team have also created a mentoring program matching newly diagnosed women with mentors to guide them on this scary journey. The group is talking about using the $4000 donation from our book sales to give scholarships to women to attend the World Parkinson’s Congress in Barcelona in 2023. That would be exciting! I gave a talk about the Exquisite Warriors book that can be viewed here on the Twitchy Woman YouTube channel.

Parkinson’s Africa was founded by Omotola Thomas, also a warrior in the book, to help PD patients in her native Nigeria. Parkinson’s Africa is “a Parkinson’s disease patient advocacy organisation dedicated to supporting and empowering Africans impacted by Parkinson’s disease.” Omotola is a remarkable voice and a fierce advocate from her current home in the UK and is now plotting how to earmark the $4,000 donation directly for women in Africa.

There are heartbreaking stories that across Africa, Parkinson’s is often thought to be witchcraft, or a curse, with stigma and shame so bad that people are abandoned by their families. On top of that, our “gold standard” cheap and easy drug that has been around for over 50 years here in the US, is very difficult to obtain in Africa.

Omatola tells us, “We at Parkinson’s Africa truly appreciate the donation made by the Exquisite Warriors to our organisation. Through this generous donation to Parkinson’s Africa, two women impacted by Parkinson’s disease in Africa will be sponsored to attend the WPC event in 2023 happening in Barcelona, Spain. Attending the event will be impactful for these women as it will help them to understand that they are not alone in the fight against Parkinson’s.”

It will be excitng to see what Omatola and her team accomplish. Learn more about Parkinson’s Africa here.

Stay tuned for out third beneficiary announcement, coming soon.