Parkinson's Awareness / Parkinson's Fundraising
What can any one of us do?? asked a friend of mine.
Well, if you think you can do nothing, you are wrong!
Anyone could raise Parkinson's Awareness just by talking about Parkinson's.
Anyone could promote Parkinson's Fundraising efforts by telling others about them.
Anyone could raise Parkinson's Awareness by volunteering in the Parkinson's community.
Example:
April is Parkinson's month. On Wednesday dozens of volunteers (many with Parkinson's) sold cut flowers (tulips) in the
core buildings in our city to raise Parkinson's Awareness and to raise funds for Parkinson's. Those who could not
participate personally, still helped raise awareness by telling others, by organizing their friends as volunteers, etc.
I have Parkinson's, my wife and carepartner does not... Our "kids" are all working this year, but my retired brother-in-
law was not, and we had a great time promoting Parkinson's Awareness and raising money for Parkinson's...
Wednesday's Tulips For Parkinson's may be over in our city until next year... but there's still the rest of April...
How can you raise Parkinson's Awareness??
You may be able to volunteer in your area... You may be able to participate in local Parkinson's events or
fundraisers... You may be able to find Parkinson's information for others on the Internet... You may be able to
participate on the Parkinson's e-mail forums or tell others where to find them... I do all of these things and find it
therapeutic... Keeping busy and helping others is good for you too...
http://www.geocities.com/murraycharters/vip.html
There are fundraisers across North America.
We will be travelling to New York in less than two weeks to walk in the Parkinson's Unity Walk in New York City... We
are promoting the event and our Team "Fidgety Feet" on the Internet.
http://www.geocities.com/murraycharters/051.html
I belong to a trade union and many union members are donating to our team effort by simply clicking on
http://tinyurl.com/2bdxq and then selecting a team member (Murray? Brenda?) to donate to a secured on-line
connection...
Others prefer the old snail mail so they click on
http://www.kintera.org/htmlcontent.asp?cid=16207
to print an offline Pledge Donation Form to mail in to Unity Walk...
There will be thousands of "others" walking in Central Park, be sure to designate which person you wish to sponsor...
Those who feel unable to donate can still tell others about our fundraising efforts or the fundraising efforts of so
many others...
Example:
My friends and cyber sisses Carole Hercun and Gail Vass (CHIP 'N GALE) are going to walk with us in New York...
Gail told two friends of hers and even tho Sharon Hughes and Wanda Banks do not have Parkinson's, (they have MS) and
even tho they may have to use scooters or wheelchairs in Central Park, they're coming to join us and raise Parkinson's
Awareness and raise Parkinson's Funds!
Our friends Kathleen Cochran, Robert Allison, and Carol Walling heard about Team Fidgety Feet on the Internet or the e-
mail forums and they're coming to join us and raise Parkinson's Awareness and raise Parkinson's Funds!
Donate to our team effort by simply clicking on http://tinyurl.com/2bdxq and then select a team member (Carole? Gail?
Sharon? Wanda? Robert? carol? Kathleen? ETC.) to donate on-lineto a secure connection... or tell someone else... and
tell them to tell others... word of mouth is a good endorsement too...
If you prefer the old snail mail then click on
http://www.kintera.org/htmlcontent.asp?cid=16207
to print an offline Pledge Donation Form... or tell someone else...
Another Example:
If you live in New York OR if you have family or friends that live in NY
-- Please read and take action!
A bill supporting stem cell and regenerative medical research in New York
State is pending in the NYS Legislature. The bill, sponsored by Assembly
Speaker Sheldon Silver was passed in the Assembly last year, but needs a
Senate sponsor. Please read the following and contact your State Senator
and also forward this letter to ALL of your friends and family in New
York State, and ask them to pass the information on to everyone they
know.
A sample letter to Senators is included below.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks,
Linda Herman
[log in to unmask]
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* New Yorkers for the Advancement of Medical Research
NYS Stem Cell Research Legislation
ACTION ALERT
Stem cell research and therapeutic "cloning" (SCNT) could hold the key to
developing new treatments for debilitating diseases. Millions of
Americans suffer from chronic, degenerative and acute diseases, such as
Juvenile Diabetes, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, cancer and heart disease.
In 2003, the New York State Assembly passed the Reproductive Cloning
Prohibition and Research Protection Act (A.6249-A). Sponsored by
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-64), the bill seeks to protect stem
cell research and therapeutic cloning, while prohibiting reproductive
cloning.
NYAMR (New Yorkers for the Advancement of Medical Research) is currently
working to find a Senate Republican to sponsor this bill and to advance
it in the New York State Senate. We need your assistance to help us to
gain support in the Senate for protecting stem cell research in New York
State.
Understanding the Legislative Issues:
· A.6249-A amends the Public Health Law by adding a new section entitled
“Human Cloning”. This section establishes protections for therapeutic
cloning and stem cell research and creates a legislative commission to
examine and evaluate stem cell research and cloning. Additionally, this
section prohibits reproductive cloning and provides penalties for
violators. There is currently not a Senate sponsor for this legislation.
--New Jersey has recently passed a similar bill into law, and their
governor is proposing $6.5 million in state funding to develop a Stem
Cell Research Institute at Rutgers University, expected to attract
world-class researchers and biotech companies to the Garden State,
creating jobs and related economic benefits for New Jersey.
-- Legislation to prohibit the use of cloning technology for any purpose
- therapeutic or reproductive - has been introduced by State Senator
Raymond Meier (R-47). The bill, S.206, which is still pending in
committee, prohibits stem cell research and therapeutic cloning. The
existence of this legislation in the Senate makes it critical for
proponents of stem cell research to contact their State Senators and
express their support for A.6249-A, which protects stem cell research and
their opposition to S.206, which prohibits it.
The Importance of Stem Cell Research:
· Millions of Americans suffer from chronic, degenerative and acute
diseases, including Juvenile Diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s
disease, cancer, and heart disease. These conditions cause immense
physical and psychological suffering, and are often life threatening.
· Further the costs of treatment and lost productivity for these diseases
constitute hundreds of billions of dollars annually in the United States,
and create a substantial economic burden for those suffering from these
diseases.
· Human stem cell research and therapeutic cloning offer great promise
for developing new treatment and prevention methods for these
debilitating diseases.
Get Involved:
Here’s what you can do to help:
CALL YOUR STATE SENATOR (Senate Switchboard (518) 455-2800). Use talking
points above and a personal story to make your case.
WRITE YOUR SENATOR A LETTER. Use the attached “sample letter to
Senators on stem cell research” as a template, add your own personal
experiences and include your address and phone number so their office can
follow up with you to discuss your position further.
VISIT the local offices of your State Senator. Bring a letter with you
to the meeting and leave a copy with your Senator.
TO FIND OUT WHO REPRESENTS YOU GO TO:
http://www.elections.state.ny.us/sboemaps/maps.htm
Click on “Find Your Voting District Map and Representative”,
Enter your address and Click on “State Senate
Districts”
TO FIND THE ADDRESS OF YOUR STATE SENATOR
GO TO THE ABOVE WEBSITE AND CLICK ON
“Get A List Of All Your New York State Officials”
Find your Senator on the list
SENATORS NEED TO HEAR FROM THEIR CONSTITUENTS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF
STEM CELL RESEARCH AND THERAPEUTIC CLONING.
ASK YOUR STATE SENATOR TO SUPPORT A.6249-A AND ALSO ASK THEM TO SPEAK TO
SENATE MAJORITY LEADER BRUNO ABOUT THIS LEGISLATION!!!!!!
*New Yorkers for the Advancement of Medical research is a coalition of
NYS disease organizations, including the Parkinson's Disease Foundation,
patient advocates, AMDEC (an organization of leading NYS research
institutions), scientists, biotech industry representatives, Haddasah,
and many others.
SAMPLE LETTER TO SENATORS ON STEM CELL RESEARCH
Dear Senator [INSERT NAME]:
I am writing to request your support for legislation to enact the
reproductive cloning prohibition and research protection act (A.6249-A).
This legislation establishes protections for therapeutic cloning and stem
cell research, while prohibiting reproductive cloning. A.6249-A also
creates a legislative commission to examine, evaluate and advise the
Legislature on issues related to human cloning, genetic engineering and
stem cell research. This legislation has passed the Assembly but does
not have a Senate sponsor. A.6249-A has been circulated to many of your
colleagues and there is a substantial amount of interest.
The reasons behind the introduction and passage of this legislation in
the State Senate are simple for patients with crippling diseases such as
Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s or Juvenile Diabetes, and their relatives and
friends.
[ADD PERSONAL EXPERIENCE]
New York State law is currently silent on the legality of this issue,
however proposals have been introduced in both the Senate and Assembly,
which threaten this invaluable research and technology. The most drastic
measure S.206(Meier) would completely prohibit the use of cloning
technology for any purpose, therapeutic or reproductive. If passed, this
legislation would be devastating to the many New Yorkers who suffer from
the physical, psychological and economic burdens of life-threatening and
debilitating diseases.
As one of your constituents, I respectfully request your assistance in
ensuring that the hope and promise created by stem cell research and
therapeutic cloning are not suffocated by legislation prohibiting it. The
future lives of so many children and adults depend on you actions. Please
support A.6249-A to protect stem cell research and please let Senate
Majority Leader Bruno know that you would like it to be considered by the
Senate.
Sincerely,
[YOUR NAME, ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER]
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Linda and her family are walking with Team "Fidgety Feet" in the Unity Walk on April 24th. too... and my family (bro
Patrick and his wife Chris)...
Donate to our team effort by simply clicking on http://tinyurl.com/2bdxq and then select a team member (Linda? her
family? Ed? my family? Patrick? Chris?) to donate on-line... or tell someone else...
If you prefer the old snail mail then click on
http://www.kintera.org/htmlcontent.asp?cid=16207
to print an offline Pledge Donation Form... or tell someone else...
People Living with Parkinson's PLWP have a team too and we will be walking along side their team... PLWP's Team page is
at http://tinyurl.com/3h43m
Everyone can help... even if they simply tell others about the good work of the Parkinson's volunteers and the
organized Parkinson's groups...
see Parkinson's Organizations Worldwide
http://www.geocities.com/murraycharters/003.html
see People Living With Parkinson's
http://www.plwp.org/
see Parkinson's Resources on the WWWeb
http://www.geocities.com/murraycharters/
see 10th Annual Parkinson's Unity Walk
http://www.unitywalk.org/home.shtml
There may be 200 teams before we're done...
Tell many others about all of the above...
cheers ..... murray
* * *
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