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Kathleen and Dee, The hope that the many national Parkinson's organizations would unite or at least work cooperatively with one another has been expressed by many pwp for many years. I don't know why there are multiple national PD organizations, but as Dee wrote - "... the funding for Parkinson's treatment & cure, is diluted and weakened by being diverted to too many agencies, too many chiefs and too many indians. " I think also with so many organizations and spokespeople that the impact of our message is also diluted, among the general public, politicians and government officials. Kathleen noted: " I for one would like to learn more about the > various organizations, what each focuses on, and how well they are deemed to > be run by the agencies who evaluate that kind of thing." --Each organization seems to have a particular focus, and i think they each do a good job. For example, it seems to me that NPF has a terrific, informative web site and produce very useful patient education materials. APDA provides much needed Information and Refferal services and support for patient support groups. PDF focusses on traditional research funding; the Parkinson's Alliance on seed grants, particularly for younger researchers; Michael J Fox Foundation on innovative and fast-track of research funding; PAN on political advocacy. I have no doubt each organization is run by dedicated, talented people who want to find the cure for Parkinson's , but they could be more effective if they combined all their efforts and talents into one organization. Financially, there could be less money spent on administrative and fund raising efforts and more funds available for research and patient care. You can find financial information on non -profit organizations on the web on: Give.org http://www.give.org and on GuideStar - http://www.guidestar.org There have been some incidences in the last few years where organizations successfully worked together, such as contributing funding for and evaluating NIH research grants. PDF seems to be especially supportive of PAN's political efforts. There have been rumors for some time that PDF and NPF are working on a merger, but that seems to be stalled, and there is little information about it from the organizations themselves. I think it would be an important first step. It seems to me that PD patients would benefit and the efforts to find a cure would be advanced if our organizations spoke as one voice. Any other opinions? Linda ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn