I care about the 1 in 20 Aussie kids who face a birth defect or genetic disease. That’s one in every classroom, maybe someone you know or love. Every day, many of these kids wake up to pills, injections, hospital visits (or worse). They never get the chance to run around and just be kids. If they can endure that, and keep smiling, then the least I can do is fight alongside them. That’s why I’m doing Jeans for Genes and raising money for Children’s Medical Research Institute. I want to give these kids better treatments and maybe even a cure.
I’ve signed up to Sofa to 6km, so I can raise awareness and start the conversation—we need to do all we can to help save more kids’ lives. Can you help by sharing this message with the people you know and asking them to donate too? I (and millions of Aussie kids) thank you for it!
Here's just one example of how, together, we can change things:
When Kalarny was born, he couldn’t hold his head up. He couldn’t move. He was fighting just to breathe. He was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), and his parents were told he wouldn’t survive to his first birthday. Thanks to research, he survived, but he needs regular spinal injections and a wheelchair to get around. If he’d been born just a few years later, he could have received gene therapy. Infants treated with just one injection of gene therapy seem to be cured. It’s early days, but signs indicate that they will go on to lead normal, healthy lives. It’s so effective, SMA has been added to newborn screening and the gene therapy treatment is covered by PBS. A disease that was incurable, a death sentence, just a few years ago, is now curable. Amazing. That’s what I want for more kids and more of the 6000 genetic diseases out there.
You might think you won’t need this research, that it’s not personal, but genetic diseases are a ticking timebomb. Most families don’t know they carry the gene for a disease, and many genetic diseases are not even inherited—they happen randomly, out of the blue. Like Kalarny’s. Like cancer. Most people don’t know that cancer is caused by changes in genes—but almost everyone will be touched by it. So, the research you and I support today may one day help someone we know, someone in our family.
There’s lots of work to do, but there is also lots of hope.
Join me. Share this message. Donate. Thank You!
My Impact
So far this year I helped provide...
39
Hours of research
For every $55 raised, one hour of research is funded
My Team Members
Jean-ius Club
Alex Sharpe
Raised so far:
$854
Jean-ius Club
Matthew Pitcher
Raised so far:
$2,144
Jean-ius Club
Bree Pertzel
Raised so far:
$279
Jean-ius Club
Clare Kemp
Raised so far:
$56
Jean-ius Club
Marcella Bade
Jean-ius Club
Will Haywood
Jean-ius Club
Lucy Jongma
Raised so far:
$56
Jean-ius Club
Simon Venville
Jean-ius Club
Katie L
Jean-ius Club
Deirdre Carr
Jean-ius Club
Mia Mehr
Raised so far:
$222
Jean-ius Club
Jen Goodall
Jean-ius Club
Mikaila Bloomfield
Raised so far:
$108
Jean-ius Club
Callie Welch
Jean-ius Club
Nicky: Jeans for Genes
Raised so far:
$53
Jean-ius Club
Monique Jonson
Raised so far:
$345
Thank you to our Sponsors
$317
Jeans For Genes
Your donation has been doubled
$317
Anonymous
$53
Jeans For Genes
Your donation has been doubled
$53
Maude
Well done Matt, this is fantastic!
$11
Jeans For Genes
Your donation has been doubled
$11
Maryanne Pappas
Good stuff you amazing human! Keep going MP
$110
Jeans For Genes
Your donation has been doubled
$110
Matthew Pitcher
$56
Brady Bantick
Happy training Matthew!
$54
Nina Cannard
Your doing wonderful things Matty ❤️
$53
Shaneo
Awesome job, for an awesome cause, from an awesome bloke!
$47
Aurelie Freismuth
Go Matt!!
$21
Dianne And Peter Slaven
Hi Matthew such a good cause well done Di and pete x
$56
Rebecca Sweet
$42
Sam Green
Awesome Matty P!! Love your work!!
$53
Mike Symons
Great work Matt, hope you smash your target 🤩👍🫶
$106
Jonny Ayres
RUN LIKE YOURE BEING CHASED BY THE OLD WOMAN FROM 'X' HOLDING A PITCHFORK !!
$21
Jackie Megens
Well done Matt, great cause to get behind.
$56
Anonymous
Awesome work matt
$40
Lizzie Tomlinson
<3
$56
Rebecca White
Great cause. Thanks Matt for your compassion
$21
Jinet Minasian
Good luck, Matthew!!
$56
Coreen Haddad
💙
$50
Leah Jacobsen
$55
Merlene Dilger
Watch out - you'll get the running bug if you're not careful!
$56
Claire & Aj Fite
💕💕💕
$26
Luke Rodwell
Pitching in for Pitcher!! (Who’s pitching in for the kids)
$30
Karen Lee
Go Matt! What a great cause. You are such an inspiration.
$91
Josh Black
Go for it!
$21
Sarah Slaven
Great work MP !
$21
Louise Hart
Hi Matty. Hope you do well in your charitable endeavour. Good luck!
$21
Michelle Weldon
Good for you Matt
$56
"Your donation has been doubled"