 |
 |
From: [log in to unmask] Return-path: <[log in to unmask]> Subject: The National Parkinson Foundation Wants Your Pennies For... Date: Tue, 30 Mar 1999 10:02:40 EST Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit The National Parkinson Foundation Wants Your Pennies For Parkinson's Research Every Penny Counts During April, National Parkinson's Awareness Month MIAMI, March 30 /PRNewswire/ -- April is National Parkinson's Awareness Month and the National Parkinson Foundation (NPF) is launching a new, year-round campaign, entitled "Pennies for Parkinson's," to raise awareness and money for research focused on Parkinson's disease, which affects more than one-million Americans. Conceived by NPF's fundraising and advocacy arm, the Parkinson Alliance, the "Pennies for Parkinson's" campaign is a simple way for everyone to get involved in the fight against Parkinson's disease. People with Parkinson's disease, their caregivers, friends, family members, support groups, chapters, schools, churches, libraries, civic organizations, clubs, and even the general public can participate in this exciting initiative. It's as simple as collecting spare change! All money raised from "Pennies for Parkinson's" will go to Parkinson's research, specifically the Parkinson Alliance's new Parkinson's Research Opportunity Seed Grant Program, or PRO-Seed Program, which was designed to help promising investigators in the field of Parkinson's research develop new proposals for submission to the National Institutes of Health for funding. This will ensure that the funding in the Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Research Act (P.L. 105-78) takes place as mandated by Congress. Research scientists strongly believe that with increased research funding, a cure for Parkinson's is on the horizon. How To Participate Get "Pennies for Parkinson's" labels from the Parkinson Alliance, stick it on a can or jar and place it somewhere you will see it daily -- in the kitchen, on your dresser. Pass out stickers to your friends, family members and co- workers and ask them to do the same. Each day, drop your spare change (pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, dollars too) into the container. At the end of the month take everything to the bank and turn it into a check made payable to the Parkinson Alliance. "Pennies for Parkinson's" labels are available, free of charge, from the Parkinson Alliance Headquarters at 1250 4th Street, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20037. Interested parties should call Bill Turenne toll free at (888) 331-4673. "To find a cure for Parkinson's disease, you must fund as much research as possible, and sometimes money for research can come in the most unconventional ways -- like in spare change," stated Jim Cordy, Parkinson patient and President of the Parkinson Alliance. "The 'Pennies for Parkinson's' Campaign has a lot of potential, if only 100,000 people from around the United States collected $50 in change during the month of April, that's $5 million for research!" What is the Parkinson Alliance? The Parkinson Alliance serves as the grass roots fundraising and advocacy arm of the National Parkinson Foundation. The mission of the Parkinson Alliance is to provide a structure to empower individuals affected by Parkinson's disease to have a voice in setting the national policy agenda for research and patient services. It is a national volunteer group composed of people with Parkinson's disease or directly affected by it. They are dedicated and proven Parkinson's advocates who aren't willing to sit around and wait for a cure to be found. The Alliance encourages everyone with Parkinson's disease, or those directly affected by it, to join us with the common goal of caring for people who have Parkinson's disease today, while working for the cure so there will be no Parkinson's tomorrow. For more information on the Parkinson Alliance, call (888) 331-4673 or visit www.parkinsonalliance.org. About the National Parkinson Foundation... The National Parkinson Foundation (NPF) is the largest organization serving people with Parkinson's disease and their families world-wide. NPF's mission is to: find the cause and cure for Parkinson's disease and allied neurological disorders through research; to educate general medical practitioners to detect the early warning signs of Parkinson's disease; to educate patients, their caregivers and the general public; to provide diagnostic and therapeutic services, and to improve the quality of life for both patients and caregivers. To these ends, the NPF funds research and provides educational and patient services at it's 52 Centers of Excellence worldwide. For more information on Parkinson's disease or services available from the National Parkinson Foundation, please call (800) 327-4545 or visit www.parkinson.org. About Parkinson's Disease... Parkinson's disease is a degenerative neurological disorder which arises from the death of nerve cells in a critical area of the brain called the substantia nigra. These cells normally produce a chemical messenger called dopamine. The absence of dopamine has debilitating effects on a patient's ability to control voluntary movement. More than one million Americans currently suffer from Parkinson's disease. While the average age of onset is 57 years of age, as many as 20% of patients are diagnosed in their 20's, 30's and 40's. Symptoms of Parkinson's disease generally include: tremor, stiffness of muscles (rigidity), slowness of movement (bradykinesia) and loss of balance (postural dysfunction). Additional symptoms may include: loss of recent memory (dementia), depression, lessened facial expression (masked face), freezing episodes or difficult in walking, and diminished speech capability. Parkinson's symptoms and their rate of progression vary greatly with each patient. SOURCE The National Parkinson Foundation, Inc. CO: The National Parkinson Foundation, Inc. ST: Florida IN: HEA SU: 03/30/99 10:01 EST http://www.prnewswire.com To edit your profile, go to keyword <A HREF="aol://1722:NewsProfiles"> NewsProfiles</A>. For all of today's news, go to keyword <A HREF="aol://1722:News">News</A>.