Annual Golf Scramble Sponsorship
On Monday, August 29, 2022, the Parkinson’s Association of West Michigan will host its 30th Annual Don and Sara Butcher Family Charity Golf Scramble. This event will be held in Grand Rapids at the beautiful Thornapple Pointe Golf Course. All funds raised will go to support educational and supportive programs and activities for those impacted by Parkinson’s Disease and their caregivers.
We need your help to make this event a success. All sponsors are invited to the reception and awards dinner. We are asking businesses and individuals in our community to play an important role through a sponsorship or a contribution in any of these categories.
If your sponsorship offers “complimentary golf entries,” please include the name of the golf participants for which these entries will be reserved in the NOTES field so that those spot can immediately be reserved.
Award Will Study Innovative Parkinsons Treatment
WMU College of Health and Human Services Director of Research JoAnne McFarland O’Rourke has recently received the 2015 Raymond Bauer M.D. Research Award from the Michigan Parkinsons Foundation. Bauer was a neurology professor at Wayne State University School of Medicine and the founding president of the Michigan Parkinson Foundation. The aim of the award is to help support research and to foster the study of Parkinson’s disease among individuals with career interests in neurological disorders.
In addition to her role at WMU, ORourke maintains a private neurofeedback and counseling practice and is a student in the WMU interdisciplinary health sciences Ph.D. program. A chief aim of her research is to delineate treatment methods that address comorbid conditions that accompany Parkinsons disease. Those conditions involve physical health, such as gait, balance and fatigue mental health, such as depression and anxiety and cognition, such as memory, word-finding and attention. As the conditions combine, it is often difficult for patients and practitioners to sort out comorbidities, including which symptoms take priority and which may be contributing to others.
Parkinson’s Disease Support Group
Parkinson’s Disease is a progressive nervous disorder which can cause a variety of symptoms including difficulty with movement and communication. This support group offers education, support, and resources to patients with Parkinson’s Disease, caregivers and other members of their support team.
Although caregivers/family members are welcome, we request a maximum of one per participant due to space limitations.
Also Check: Parkinson’s Vaccine Shows Positive Results
*please Visit Our Free Exercise Page And Our Free Support Group Page For A List Of Virtual Support Group Meetings
The Michigan Parkinson Foundation is dedicated to people living with Parkinson’s disease. We are an independent non-profit 501 charitable corporation that was founded in 1983. We are funded primarily by private contributions, memorials, and grants.
Guided by a volunteer Board of Directors and Professional Advisory Board, MPF staff and volunteers, along with partner organizations provide services and resources to enhance the quality of life for people with Parkinson’s and their families throughout the state.
More than 10 million people worldwide are living with Parkinson’s disease. You are not alone in your journey. We invite you to connect with us.
What is Parkinson’s disease ?
It is a type of movement disorder. It happens when the brain does not produce enough of a brain chemical called dopamine. It is sometimes genetic, but in most cases it does not run in families.
How to Get Help
Call our number at to get help today. See icons at top of the page for educational resources and exercise courses.
Pawm Provides The Following Services For People With Pd Their Families And Support Persons:
- Timely and accurate information via this website, Facebook, emails, and printed material
- A dynamic Search Engine providing a wide range of PD Information, including books, local support groups, clinical trials, and information on specialized services, such as a Deep Brain Stimulation Support Group
- A connection to exercise and other special classes for people with PD
- Notification of opportunities to participate in PD-related studies
- Lectures and events featuring PD experts
Recommended Reading: How To Be Diagnosed With Parkinson’s Disease
Alliance Of Independent Regional Parkinson Organizations
Houston Area Parkinson Society is pleased to be a member of the Alliance of Independent Regional Parkinson Organizations , a consortium formed with the shared goals of finding a cure for Parkinsons and supporting those who live with the disease. AIRPO encourages collaboration, leverages organizational strengths and maximizes efficiency within its member organizations, which include Parkinson Association of the Rockies, Parkinson Foundation of Western Pennsylvania, Parkinson Foundation of Oklahoma, Houston Area Parkinson Society, Michigan Parkinson Foundation, Southwest Parkinson Society, Northwest Parkinsons Foundation, Parkinson Association of the Carolinas, Neuro Challenge Foundation for Parkinsons, Parkinsons Association of San Diego, Parkinsons Association of Northern California, Parkinson Association of Alabama and Dallas Area Parkinson Society.
The creation of AIRPO formalized a collaboration that began in 2009 between the Parkinson Foundation and several independent regional nonprofit organizations, who have now become AIRPOs founding members. This partnership has allowed AIRPO to grow significantly over the years and in 2021, after many years of support from the Parkinsons Foundation, AIRPO now functions as a stand-alone organization.
New Research From West Michigan Institute Links Gut Microbes To Parkinsons
The late Dr. Viviane Labrie, a Van Andel Institute associate professor who died August 2020, led the research team that discovered the link between the gut microbiome and the development of Parkinson’s.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI New research coming from Michigan-based researchers seems to indicate that the microbes in the gut may play a key role in some of the development of Parkinsons disease, a brain disorder affecting over 10 million people worldwide.
The study which was helmed by the late Dr. Viviane Labrie of Van Andel Institute alongside peers at VAI, Beaumont Health, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, and Oregon Health & Science University focuses on the relationship between the brain, the guts synthesis of toxic bile acids and the development of Parkinsons.
Dr. Stewart Graham, director of Metabolomics Research at Beaumont Health, said he has been involved in previous research involving Parkinsons in the blood and brain, but the connection between the brain and gut felt natural due to their close relationship.
If you talk to any scientist thats interested in the gut or the microbiome, theyre going to tell you that the gut is also the second brain of the body, Graham said.
The long-range goal would be to see if bile acid treatment drugs on the market potentially could be repurposed to treat Parkinsons, but doctors point out its too soon to know if that will be the case.
Read more:
Read Also: Parkinson’s Disease Fact Sheet
Donate Stocks Bonds Or Other Tangible Products
We have a strong relationship with the Grand Rapids Community Foundation . They can streamline the process and effortlessly accept any stocks, bonds, endowments, living will benefits, or any other tangible asset on our behalf. Please contact either us during regular office hours or GRCF to make prior arrangements for this type of donation:
GRCF
Parkinsons Association Of West Michigan Inc
- EIN: 94-2974403
- Human Service Organizations – Multipurpose
- Nonprofit Tax Code Designation: 501 Defined as: Organizations for any of the following purposes: religious, educational, charitable, scientific, literary, testing for public safety, fostering national or international amateur sports competition , or the prevention of cruelty to children or animals.
- Donations to this organization are tax deductible.
- More Resources:
- Get notifications:
Read Also: Neurologist For Parkinson’s Disease
What Pawm Provides
PAWM is located in beautiful Grand Rapids, Michigan, and serves the Greater Grand Rapids area as well as the Lakeshore areas, such as the communities of Holland and Muskegon. We are committed to helping Parkinsons Disease patients and their families/caregivers understand PD and learn about activities and support groups that may help with the management of PD.
PAWM is a source of PD-related information. We help promote many different PD-related activities, including online information, programs on physical and speech therapy, relaxation training, and other measures which are important in learning to live with PD. You may choose to learn about home health care or to hear presentations by neurologists and other health professionals with PD experience and training.
PAWM is constantly searching for and providing current information pertaining to research, treatment, and topics that would be of interest to people with PD, their families, and their support persons.
How We Listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Heres how this organization is listening.
done
-
How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?
Electronic surveys , Suggestion box/email,
-
How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve,
-
With whom is the organization sharing feedback?
Our board, Our community partners,
-
Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
-
What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback, The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, It is difficult to get honest feedback from the people we serve,
Recommended Reading: How Does General Anesthesia Affect Parkinson’s