When Sacha Whitehead decided to use her art to raise money for Parkinson's Disease, she had no idea just how successful she would be.
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The Narromine resident was diagnosed with young-onset Parkinson's Disease three years ago and after taking up painting last year, she decided to give one of her paintings to people who make donations through her website.
She has already raised $800 and the number in increasingly rapidly.
"It's been a hard battle. I want a cure and I have been thinking "what can I contribute?
"I don't like asking people for donations so I started to think what if I gave a gift when someone donated," Sacha said.
"Then I started thinking what if I do it for a whole month, do as many paintings as I can and see how much money can be raised.
"April is Parkinson's Awareness Month and it was World Parkinson's Day on April 11 so it's a good month to do it."
Sacha had been a full-time teacher but her Parkinson's has made working full days impossible. She has a part-time job but said painting is an important way of allowing her to relax.
Most of her work is portraits of celebrities and cartoon characters, but during April she is taking requests and is willing to have a go at anything.
Sacha's 15-year-old daughter Brianna is also participating, specialising in animal drawings.
"I wanted it to be affordable for everyone, so for most of the works it is just $10 or $20. People have been snapping them up.
"Some people have been donating more, I've had a couple go for $50 but the small donations really add up," Sacha said. "I started with a goal of raising $700 but I have reached that halfway through the month so now I want to get to $1000.
"More people are finding out about it and most people who are donating are doing it across the internet. I've had a few people from Narromine buy from me, but I have even had people from overseas buying my artworks," she said.
All the money raised by Sacha during April will be donated to the Shake It Up Foundation, which works in conjunction with the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. She chose it because 100 per cent of donations were put towards research.
Approximately 100,000 Australians live with Parkinson's Disease and every day another 30 are diagnosed.
There is no cure but Sacha remains hopeful that one can be found and said all donations will help.
Visit her website to make a donation or see more of Sacha's work on her Facebook page
