Parkinson's Foundation, Inc.

The Parkinson's Foundation makes life better for people with PD by improving standards of care and advancing research toward a cure. We are rallying researchers, physicians, clinicians, therapists, people with Parkinson's and their families in support of the entire Parkinson's community.

Foundation-supported scientists are working aggressively to identify the underlying mechanisms of the disease—a critical initial step to developing new therapies and treatments. Only by knowing how PD works within the brain and throughout the body can we develop new drugs that prevent, stop or ultimately cure the disease.

For those currently struggling with Parkinson's, it is imperative that we make progress today. The Parkinson's Foundation is the leader in ensuring better medical care; educating and empowering the Parkinson's community; and driving the understanding of Parkinson's through research. These guiding pillars of our work will allow us to take a chronic, degenerative disease and give people hope of independence and quality of life.

As a national organization with a local presence and impact, the Parkinson's Foundation brings help and hope to the estimated one million individuals in the United States, 10 million worldwide, who are living with Parkinson's.

Ensuring Better Care for Everyone
• The Parkinson's Foundation sets standards for expert Parkinson's care through its global network of 42 Centers of Excellence.
• The Foundation improves the quality of life for people with PD by tracking the care that they receive at its centers. Nearly 10,000 patients are enrolled in the Parkinson's Outcomes Project, the largest clinical study of PD. According to the Foundation's study, regular Parkinson's treatment from a neurologist could save thousands of lives each year.
• The Foundation is working to close the gap in Parkinson's professional training by educating nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language therapists and social workers so they can provide better care.

Educating and Empowering the Parkinson's Community
• The Parkinson's Foundation educates and empowers people with PD through its national network of staff and volunteers. The foundation was the first organization to form a Parkinson's advisory council and the first to train people with PD to partner with scientists on research.
• The Parkinson's Foundation helps people live well with PD by providing free resources including: educational books, webinars, podcasts, a life-saving hospitalization kit, and the toll-free Helpline, staffed by Parkinson's specialists who answer nearly 30,000 calls annually.
• The Parkinson's Foundation brings local communities together through Moving Day®, A Walk for Parkinson's, a national grassroots event that has raised $14 million to support Parkinson's research and local wellness programs across the country.

Understanding Parkinson's through Research
• The Parkinson's Foundation invests more than $10 million annually in promising scientists who are on a mission to understand the basic mechanisms of Parkinson's that are critical to developing new treatments and medications.
• The Parkinson's Foundation recruits the most talented minds in Parkinson's research by supporting early career scientists in neurology who might choose other fields of study.
• The Parkinson's Foundation identifies and addresses the unmet needs of people with PD by driving cutting-edge research on a wide range of patient-driven topics.

The challenges of living with Parkinson's disease, improving care and finding a cure can seem overwhelming. No individual or group can go it alone.

We are the Parkinson's Foundation. A community. An alliance. A movement. Where people living with Parkinson's, families, caregivers, scientists, advocates, donors and volunteers join forces to improve lives and advance toward a cure

For over half a century, we've made tangible progress on all fronts, from the largest clinical study of Parkinson's ever, which has significantly improved care, to breakthrough treatments. Today, we continue to:

-Provide life-changing support to people living with Parkinson's and their caregivers
-Fund game-changing research on treatment and care
-Convene the best minds from every corner of the global Parkinson's community to find new approaches that enhance care and move us closer to a cure.

Everything we do is based on experience and informed by facts. The people we serve deserve nothing less than the highest level of support based on validated research and deep encouragement grounded in reality. Our donors and volunteers need to know that we are 100% accountable. This is why we focus on verifiable outcomes, not vague promises.

In partnership with the entire Parkinson's community, we are making a real difference in people's lives. And we have the research, the data – and the stories – to prove it. This is what happens when we all pull together as one global, determined and inspired movement. Better Lives. Together.