Parkinson's Disease Foundation Rallies Communities to Join the Team to #EndParkinsons During Awareness Month

PDF estimates that seven to 10 million people worldwide are living with Parkinson's disease. While there is promising research, there is currently no cure. PDF is mobilizing a diverse team that includes scientists, health professionals and people impacted by Parkinson's, to find one. The PDF #EndParkinsons campaign recognizes the important contributions of all team members and empowers them to take an active role in creating a world without Parkinson's disease.

"During April, we can make the world take notice of Parkinson's, but we cannot do it alone," said Karen Smith of Evansville, IN, Vice Chair of PDF's People with Parkinson's Advisory Council. "I urge my fellow patient advocates, their families and the scientists and health professionals in the field, to join the team by utilizing PDF's free resources. We need your help, whether it is by hanging a free poster or educating your community, to bring us closer to a cure."

The community is invited to use the Parkinson's Disease Foundation's free toolkit to:

• Join the Team Online: Donate your social media status to #EndParkinsons by signing up for our online awareness campaign via Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr. Make the #EndParkinsons campaign visible by changing your social media profile photos for the month of April.
• Get Your Local Team Involved: Paint the town with tulips with PDF's free awareness posters and tree ribbons. Put Parkinson's disease in your local newspapers by using PDF's sample letter to the editor, or set up a Parkinson's Awareness display at a local library using PDF's free educational materials.
• Support the Team: Donate or host a fundraiser to support the scientists who are helping to end Parkinson's disease. Beginning on World Parkinson's Day, Monday, April 11, The Light of Day Foundation and friends will match all donations made to PDF for up to $100,000.

"At PDF, we know that ending Parkinson's disease is a team effort," said PDF President Robin Anthony Elliott. "We need the scientists who are so diligently seeking new treatments and cures; we need the health professionals who are improving lives on the front lines each and every day; and we need the people with Parkinson's and those who love them, who are advocating to move the cause forward. Together, we can end Parkinson's disease."

To order tools from the PDF #EndParkinsons campaign, including a free poster, tree ribbon and social media badge, contact PDF at (800) 457-6676 or [email protected] or visit www.pdf.org/parkinson_awareness. Stay tuned to daily happenings during Parkinson's Awareness Month by following PDF on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

About Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurological disorder that affects nearly one million people in the US. Although promising research is being conducted, there is currently no cure for Parkinson's disease.

About Parkinson's Awareness Month

April is recognized as Parkinson's Awareness Month. Each April, as part of its strategy to #EndParkinsons by mobilizing leaders in science, health care and the patient community, the Parkinson's Disease Foundation offers free tools to empower its team to raise awareness. We invite the community to take advantage of our online and print resources, including a free online and print toolkit, a free social media badge, free posters available in English and Spanish, free tree ribbons, as well as awareness tools for purchase, including the official Parkinson's Awareness T-Shirt designed by 13-year-old Lea Dempsey of Princeton, NJ, in honor of her grandfather who lived with Parkinson's disease. Browse PDF's free tools by visiting www.pdf.org/parkinson_awareness or contacting PDF at (800) 457-6676 or [email protected].

About the Parkinson's Disease Foundation

The Parkinson's Disease Foundation® (PDF®) is a leading national presence in Parkinson's disease research, education and public advocacy. We are working for the nearly one million people in the US who live with Parkinson's by funding promising scientific research while supporting people living with Parkinson's through educational programs and services. Since its founding in 1957, PDF has dedicated nearly $110 million to fund the work of leading scientists throughout the world and nearly $47 million to support national education and advocacy initiatives. 

Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160401/350405 
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111101/DC97663LOGO

SOURCE Parkinson's Disease Foundation

Related Links

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