June-August 2020 | Summer
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Executive Director's Update
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Executive Director's Update
Linda Goldfield
The last few months have been emotionally and physically exhausting for most of us. These trying and uncertain times have left us searching for opportunities to remain connected and maintain a sense of community.
And while we continue to battle a COVID-19 pandemic, together we are fighting the pandemic of Parkinson Disease. Our dedicated and resourceful staff and volunteers quickly transitioned many of our in-person programs and services to virtual. While virtual will never replace the kinship of being together, side by side, as of now, it is the most practical and beneficial opportunity to stay engaged and live well with PD under these circumstances. Every time I join one of our virtual programs my heart sings with happiness as I witness our members benefit physically and emotionally.
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If you have yet to participate, I encourage you to join in – find a kitchen pot and drum with us on Fridays or grab water bottles for weights and log on for movement classes twice daily. Each week there are close to 20 hours of programming to keep you active and engaged. If you are struggling with accessing the technology, we have partnered with Assisting Hands for a one-on-one home visit to set up your computer or personal device with zoom meetings. Or if you don’t own a computer, please call us and we will secure a tablet for you to borrow.
Your safety and health are our primary concern and we hope that in the near future we will return to in-person programming. However, if you’re in your summer home or just down the street virtual programming will continue as an option.
During the lockdown, we moved to a more professional and spacious office. We look forward to welcoming you to our new home. When you are comfortable, we encourage you to visit whether it’s just to say hi or if you need information, referrals or crisis counseling.
We replace despair with hope, depression with encouragement, anger with joy, frustration with success and hopelessness with desire. We are in this together.
Linda Goldfield
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Members Living Well with PD
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Q: How did you become involved with the Parkinson Association of SWFL?
Jack:
I was first diagnosed with PD in February 2014. Two weeks later I read something about the Parkinson Association of SWFL in the Naples Daily News and made an appointment for my wife and me to meet in their office.
The volunteer on duty spent a lot of time with us, explaining the various effects PD has on people, sharing brochures on PD, and also about the many activities the organization makes available.
Q: What activities did you get involved in and do you believe attending has affected your PD progression?
Jack:
Soon after my first visit, I started going to the exercise classes where I met many other people with PD. I also started going to speech classes and support group meetings. To this day I attend all three of these meetings as often as possible, all of which have impacted my life very favorably, both physically and mentally. I believe this has slowed the PD progression.
Q: Do you have any advice to offer someone with PD who is not involved?
Jack:
Become involved. This organization offers a large variety of activities and seminars which help the social and daily lives of those with PD and their care partners The leadership and membership are an extremely helpful and congenial group.
They have made a huge difference in my life.
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Jack Andrews Member of the Parkinson Association of SWFL since 2014
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"I have met people who have relocated to the Naples area just to participate in programs offered by the Parkinson Association of SWFL."
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If you have a question about PD or our programs that you would like answered, please email us at
office@parkinsonassociationswfl.org
and we will be happy to answer them for you.
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In the News with Personal Living Alert
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Linda Goldfield recently spoke with David Michaels of Personal Living Alert about staying true to the mission of helping persons in our community with PD to live well during COVID-19.
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Florida leads the country in PD Population
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PD is the fastest growing disease and is expected to surpass Alzheimer's disease within the next 20 years. Florida leads the country with the highest percent of population with PD, making support for services for our growing PD population more critical now than ever.
Click to learn more
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1. Based on P4 study of Parkinson prevalence by state level using 2016 US Census data. Marras, C., Beck, J. C., Bower, J. H., Roberts, E., Ritz, B., Ross, G. W., Abbott, R. D., Savica, R., Van Den Eeden, S. K., Willis, A. W., Tanner, CM, on behalf of the Parkinson’s Foundation P4 Group (2018). Prevalence of Parkinson’s disease across North America. Npj Parkinson’s Disease, 4(1), 1–7. http://doi.org/10.1038/s41531-018-0058-0 and 2016 Est. U.S. Census https://www.census.gov
Florida Population with PD 64,000.00 Total Population Florida 21,480,000.00 Percent of Population with PD .29% (38% higher than CA)
California Population with PD 85,100.00 Total population California 39,510,000.00 Percentage of Population with PD .21%
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New Developments & Resources
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The FDA recently approved a new drug that works with levodopa to lessen the total amount of “off” time, when Parkinson’s symptoms return, each day.
Read More
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FDA Approves Kynmobi Sublingual Film to Treat Off Episodes in Parkinson’s
Read More
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COVID-19 Exacerbates Some Parkinson’s Symptoms, Study Finds
Read More
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Mark your calendars for these special events
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Bingo for Bags and Baubles
September 17, 2020 5-9pm
Stonebridge Country Club
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This event sells out fast! Secure your tickets today.
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Please join us for a fabulous fun evening of Bingo for Bags and Baubles benefiting the Parkinson Association of Southwest Florida. Come and play for a chance to win designer handbags such as Coach, Kate Spade, Michael Kors, Versace and the designer list will only keep growing!
Tickets are $60 per person and include dinner and 13 rounds of bingo. Valet parking will also be available during the event. Register online or call us at
239-417- 3465.
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Your safety and health are our highest priority. Please be assured that CDC guidelines will be followed. Should the state continue to restrict large gatherings, the event will be re-scheduled.
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March 18, 2021 Ritz Carlton Naples
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Mark your calendars for the Parkinson Association of Southwest Florida's signature fundraising event
A Step Forward - Overcoming Obstacles
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You won't want to miss this opportunity to listen to fascinating speakers while enjoying a spectacular lunch at the Ritz Carlton Naples. You will be supporting the Parkinson Association of SWFL’s mission to help our friends, neighbors and loved ones live well with PD right here in our community.
Past speakers have included:
Sarah Huckabee Sanders
Judge Jeanine Pirro
Rashida Ali (daughter of Muhammad Ali)
Would you like to stay up to date on our upcoming special events? Let us know by joining our mailing list.
Click to join
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Education Symposium
January 12, 2021
Naples Hilton
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Enjoy lunch, education, inspiration and motivation and lunch.
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22nd Annual Walk for PD
February 2021
TBD
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Our 22nd year walking to support PD programs and services in our community.
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Would you like to stay up to date on our upcoming special events? Let us know by joining our mailing list.
Click to join
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Program Manager
Barbara Hoffman
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Having served nonprofit medical membership organizations for over 20 years, Barbara Hoffman, enthusiastically joined the Parkinson Association of SWFL staff team in December 2019 as Program Manager. In her role as Program Manager, Barbara is responsible for organizing, maintaining and evaluating programs sponsored by the association. Barbara finds it rewarding to support the Executive Director, Linda Goldfield, the Board of Directors, the staff and volunteer team in advancing the organization’s goals and making a difference for the Parkinson community.
If you would like to learn more about our programming or become involved. Please contact Barbara to learn more.
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New at the Parkinson Association of SWFL
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Journal Reference
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1. Miriam R. Rafferty, Peter N. Schmidt, Sheng T. Luo, Kan Li, Connie Marras, Thomas L. Davis, Mark Guttman, Fernando Cubillos, Tanya Simuni. Regular Exercise, Quality of Life, and Mobility in Parkinson’s Disease: A Longitudinal Analysis of National Parkinson Foundation Quality Improvement Initiative Data.
Journal of Parkinson's Disease
, 2017; 7 (1): 193 DOI:
10.3233/JPD-160912
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We've updated our website
Check out our updated website, where it's now even easier to find the classes, groups, educational presentations and resources designed to help you live well with PD. Visit
ParkinsonAssociationswfl.org
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Make a lasting gift through Planned Giving
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Legacy gifts
are an excellent way to support a charity you believe will provide meaningful benefits for future generations.
Giving to the Parkinson Association of SWFL can be done either directly or through a planned gift that can provide tax benefits and in some cases, income.
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To make a gift,
call Linda Goldfield at
239-417-3465
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Our most sincere thanks to
The Women's Giving Circle
of the Community Foundation of Collier County
for their generous investment in our local PD community through a $16,120 grant to the Parkinson Association SWFL to help expand our speech therapy and movement classes.
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Our friends from the Senior Care Giver Alliance shared some resources that may offer additional support for older adults who may be experiencing health and finance issues during COVID.
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The mission of the Parkinson Association of SWFL is to provide quality programs and services to educate, enrich and empower persons impacted by Parkinson Disease and related neurological conditions, their families and care partners, as well as to increase the awareness and understanding in the communities in which they live. We are a non-profit dedicated to serving our community and are not affiliated with any national organization.
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Parkinson Association of Southwest Florida
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