What Parkinson’s Awareness Month Means To Us
Throughout April, advocates around the world will be banging the drum about Parkinson’s – bringing attention to the condition’s proliferation, educating people about the importance of exercise, fundraising for research initiatives, and celebrating the strength of those impacted by it. This is Parkinson’s Awareness month.
Of course, the thousands of friends who exercise with Power for Parkinson’s in-person and online are obviously already very aware of PD. So we focus on providing programming that helps the community connect and support each other. That’s why our theme this year is “Join Together.”
As such, we’ve loaded up with the month’s calendar with a variety of chances for people to gather, both indoors and outside. The month kicks off with a participant-led lunch group at Freda’s Seafood Grille (Wednesday, April 1, at noon), before the weekend brings a Watercolor Workshop at the PFP World Headquarters (Saturday, April 4, 1pm) – RSVP here.
With April being the most beautiful month in Central Texas, we’re excited about two fun outdoor experiences as well. Thursday April 9 sees us teaming up with the Ghisallo Cycling Initiative to take participants on a special Parkinson’s bike ride with adaptive cycles that are safe, low-impact, and helpful to people with a limited range of motion.
Later in the month, on Friday April 24, we’ll host a Community Walk & Picnic at Walnut Creek Metro Park – 10AM. This is one of our favorite annual events and last year a blast walking with 40 friends from our various classes and their families. More information can be found here.
Our community also likes to come together for informational sessions – sometimes taking on tough conversations. On Tuesday, April 7, we’re hosting a talk titled Join Together to Overcome Apathy and Depression on the Parkinson's Journey, led by Dr. Joan Asseff, Assistant Dean for Master’s Programs at the University of Texas School of Social Work. The event is called Real Talk + Real Fun and also includes a community breakfast and a special class that will feature seven different PFP instructors teaching different sections of the class. It’s a wonderful way to experience the whole rainbow of PFP fitness styles in one class. It’s open to anyone with Parkinson’s and their families and care partners. For those who can’t be there in person, we will be streaming this event live on YouTube. More details here.
We also love connecting with Power for Parkinson’s online community. This month, we’ll be hosting our regularly occurring virtual support group on April 20 at 10am, then a virtual art workshop on April 29 at 11am. It’s so inspiring to chat and smile and share with people from different states and countries. For our Spanish-speaking community, we’ll be participating in Espacio Parkinson, where we will share our resources on Monday, April 13, as well as a Powerful People interview with our PFP en Español instructor Lola Ortiz on Friday April 17.
PFP’s marquee special event for Parkinson’s Awareness month is an exercise workshop focused on gait. The five-installment course, designed by Lead Instructor Lauren Lewis, will be oriented around drills that improve participant’s walking and balance. The Step with Power workshop series is being held in honor of Hannah and Gene Step, whose son Michael has been a major supporter of the Parkinson’s community.
