 |
 |
Dear Kees, The October 15th Parkinson's Unity Walk is endorsed by all of the major national Parkinson's organizations in the U.S.: APDA. NPF, PDF, UPF and the Parkinson's Institute. All funds raised will be distributed to these five organizations. The Walk will take place in New York City; San Francisco; Lincoln, Nebraska; Springfield, Missouri; and Deland, Florida. Each city is planning the details of its Walk autonomously, but I can answer some of the questions you asked insofar as New York City is concerned. The distance for our Walk is just 3 kilometers; that's what we did last year and we found it perfect for our purposes. The route is, of course, easy to negotiate and wheel-chair accessible. We can't tell yet how many walkers we will have, but we expect upwards of 500. We have arranged to have buses to transport people from the suburbs. Our focus is threefold: to raise funds for research, to heighten public awareness about Parkinson's disease, and to serve as a model of cooperation among the Parkinson's organizations. We feel that at this particular time in the U.S., when funds for vital research are seriously threatened, the Parkinson's community must speak out loud and clear or we will be overlooked. On October 15th, we want to go out there and make a noise that will reverberate all the way to the halls of Congress. (Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now!) I'd like to know more about your Walk too. Why is it called Super-Tulip? Regards, Margot P.S. I didn't really invert the numbers in the years 1995 and 1996. I had typed my message in a word processor and used apostrophes -- '95 and '96. I must have forgotten to save in ASCII format, so the apostrophes came out as digits. Similarly, all my hard returns became equal signs.