2010 Parkinson's Unity Walk to Take Place on April 24 in New York City's Central Park

KINGSTON, N.J., April 7 /PRNewswire/ -- The Parkinson Alliance announced today that the 2010 Parkinson's Unity Walk will take place on Saturday, April 24, 2010 in New York City's Central Park. The Parkinson's Unity Walk, organized by The Parkinson Alliance, is the largest single-day grassroots awareness and fundraising event for the Parkinson's disease (PD) community, attracting more than 10,000 participants from across the country and uniting the top Parkinson's advocacy organizations.

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As the premier sponsor, Solvay Pharmaceuticals (now part of Abbott) will showcase the Messages of Hope™ Wall at the Unity Walk, where visitors can share photos and personal messages of inspiration and encouragement with the PD community. Solvay Pharmaceuticals will donate $15 per message, up to $15,000, to the Unity Walk. The Messages of Hope™ Wall premiered at the 2009 Parkinson's Unity Walk, and a virtual wall is available online at www.KnowPD.com.

"The Parkinson's Unity Walk is a time to come together, educate the community and celebrate the great strides we're making in funding research to cure this debilitating disease," said Carol Walton, CEO of The Parkinson Alliance.  "We are pleased to partner with Solvay Pharmaceuticals on this year's Unity Walk and the Messages of Hope™ Wall further demonstrates the commitment and dedication of Solvay Pharmaceuticals to serving the Parkinson's community."

"Parkinson's disease can be devastating for people with the disease and their families and friends; yet the number of new Parkinson's treatments in development and scientific advances are bringing us closer to a cure everyday," said Elizabeth Mutisya, M.D., vice president, U.S. medical affairs and chief medical officer, Solvay Pharmaceuticals.  "Solvay Pharmaceuticals is pleased to partner with the Parkinson Alliance on the Unity Walk and to help increase awareness of and fund research for this disease."

Solvay Pharmaceuticals also will sponsor the Unity Walk event webcast, allowing members of the PD community who cannot attend the event in person to join online.  The webcast will begin at 2:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday, April 24, and will be archived online following the event.  Visit www.UnityWalk.org for more information about viewing the webcast.

Registration for the Unity Walk will begin at 10 a.m. at The Bandshell at 72nd Street in Central Park, rain or shine. The Unity Walk program begins at 12:15 p.m., followed by a 2-mile wheelchair-accessible walk through Central Park. More information and registration materials are available at www.UnityWalk.org.

The number of participants in the Unity Walk has grown significantly in the last 16 years, from 200 walkers in 1994 to more than 10,000 walkers in 2009. One hundred percent of all of the donations raised by walkers has been and continues to be designated for research. Proceeds from the event are shared among seven national PD organizations, including the American Parkinson Disease Association, National Parkinson Foundation, Parkinson's Action Network, Parkinson's Disease Foundation, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, The Parkinson Alliance and The Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center.

About The Parkinson Alliance

The Parkinson Alliance is the umbrella organization for the Parkinson's Unity Walk. The Kingston, NJ-based national non-profit organization is dedicated to raising funds to help finance the most promising research to find the cause and cure for Parkinson's disease. Through the generous operational support of The Tuchman Foundation and our numerous partnerships, 100 percent of all individual donations to The Parkinson Alliance and all net proceeds from events go directly to fund research.

For more information, visit www.ParkinsonAlliance.org and www.UnityWalk.org.

SOURCE The Parkinson Alliance