MIAMI, June 29, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Parkinson Foundation (NPF) is proud to announce that Moving Day®, A Walk for Parkinson's, has funded nearly $1 million in mission services to make life better for people living with Parkinson's.  In addition to support for clinical care, NPF awarded local community grants for health, wellness and education programs in six locations for people living with Parkinson's disease (PD) and their caregivers.

NPF's 2015 spring walks will soon fund hundreds of thousands in additional services in Washington, D.C., Tampa, and the Bay Area in CA.

"Moving Day® supports local and national services that make life better for people living with Parkinson's and their families," said Joyce Oberdorf, NPF's President and CEO. "We are filling a vital need in Parkinson's communities nationwide."

"We have seen therapeutic arts-based programming achieve tremendous results with regard to improving physical, psychological, and social functioning, as well as quality of life for people with Parkinson's," said Nancy Mazonson, Director of Parkinson's Family Support. "This grant will allow us to expand our programs and work toward our goal of serving a more diverse community, and to form partnerships with the two NPF Centers of Excellence in Boston."

The Jewish Family & Children's Service in Boston was awarded a grant to offer Dance for PD classes (originated by the Mark Morris Dance Group) and Parkinson's drumming classes, staffed by experienced dance and drumming instructors as well as an occupational therapist with extensive knowledge of PD.

Funds raised through Moving Day® also support NPF's national mission by supporting the NPF Center of Excellence network that delivers care to more than 50,000 Parkinson's patients worldwide; by funding cutting-edge research like the Parkinson's Outcomes Project, aimed at better treatment and care; by providing free patient resources for patients and their families, such as a toll-free Helpline (1-800-4PD-INFO) and free hospital kit.

The 2015 community grant offerings focus on:

• Addressing unmet needs in the Parkinson's community: services for underserved populations, support for clinical trial recruitment for under-represented populations and other unmet needs such as financial barriers to care;
• Expanding a successful program into a new geography;
• Developing a new program for people with Parkinson's.

Community grants are funding local services in each of the following locations:

Atlanta:

• Emory University's PCORI-funded DREAMS program
• PD Gladiators Boxing Training Program for PD at Livramento Delgado Boxing Foundation
• Boxing classes throughout Atlanta at PD Gladiators, Inc.
• Grief recovery for patients, families and caregivers at Change Navigators
• PD Movement classes and PD Gladiators at YMCA of Metro Atlanta

Boston:

• Support for clinical care and outreach services at NPF Center of Excellence, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
• Support for clinical care and outreach services at NPF Center of Excellence, Massachusetts General Hospital
• Web-based exercise and education program at Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Profession
• Rock Steady Boxing at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
• Dance for PD at Jewish Family & Children's Service

Chicago:

• Support for clinical care and outreach services at the NPF Center of Excellence, Northwestern University
• Delayed-start designed study of scenic improvisation theater for patients with PD at Northwestern University
• Music therapy at Rush-Copley Foundation
• North Shore Dance Therapy, Inc.
• Rock Steady Boxing Windy City
• Parkinson's on the Move exercise program at Council for Jewish Elderly Senior Life

Los Angeles:

• Education and support for patients and caregivers at Huntington Movement Disorders Program
• Parkinson's exercise classes for body and voice at Physical Therapy and Wellness
• 5K Training Team at the Department of Neurology at Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC)
• Rock Steady Boxing classed in the West Los Angeles area
• Support Group of North County for physical and mental activities

Miami (South Florida):

• Assessment of barriers for research participation in Hispanics at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine
• Therapeutic Program & Resource Development to Hispanic underserved, Neuroscience Centers of Florida Foundation, Inc.
• Cognitive Priming for Movement Initiation at Florida International University
• Cycle for Parkinson's at University of Miami UHealth Fitness and Wellness Center
• Dancing for Parkinson's at Memorial Foundation, Inc.
• Art Therapy in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties at Art Therapy Consulting and Services
• Clinical Yoga Therapy Program at AUM Home Shala
• Music therapy classes in Miami-Dade and Broward counties at The Palm Beach Music Therapy Institute
• Ageless Grace Brain and Body Workout Classes at Good Vibes Consultants
• Exercise classes at Galbut Family Miami Beach Jewish Community Center
• Respite care services at Caregiver Services, Inc.
• Young Onset Parkinson's Exercise program
• Matter of Balance at Florida Health Networks

North Carolina:

• Support for clinical care and outreach services at NPF Center of Excellence, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Support for clinical care and outreach services at NPF Center of Excellence, Duke University
• Parkinson's Training on Interdisciplinary Care at the Movement Disorders Center at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Speech Language Services at Rex Healthcare Foundation
• PWR! Moves PD exercise class at Cone Health Neurorehabilitation Center
• Dance for PD classes in Durham, Chapel Hill, Hillsboro and Raleigh

Moving Day®, a grassroots fundraising and awareness walk, has cumulatively raised $8 million since it began in 2011 and is now taking place in 22 cities across the United States. For more information on 2015 Moving Day® walks, visit www.npfmovingday.org.

About the National Parkinson Foundation (NPF)
Founded in 1957, the National Parkinson Foundation's mission is to improve the quality of care for people with Parkinson's disease through research, education and outreach. NPF has funded more than $189 million in care, research and support services. For more information about NPF, visit www.parkinson.org, or call the NPF Helpline at 1-800-4PD-INFO (473-4636).

About Parkinson's Disease (PD)
Affecting an estimated one million Americans and four to six million worldwide, PD is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's and is the 14th leading cause of death in the United States. It is associated with a progressive loss of motor control (e.g., shaking or tremor at rest and lack of facial expression) as well as non-motor symptoms (e.g., depression and anxiety). There is no cure for PD and 60,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in the United States alone.

NPF Media Contact:
Leilani Pearl
lpearl@parkinson.org 
305-537-9907

SOURCE National Parkinson Foundation

Related Links

http://www.parkinson.org