There’s a waiting list for this one and all you can do is hope that some seats will open up.
Why the sellout? Because the featured speaker is one of NPR’s most popular hosts, an award-winning journalist and a real fav of KERA’s Rawlins Gilliland. She’s none other than Diane Rehm and she’ll be appearing as the keynote speaker at the Parkinson Voice Project‘s Parkinson Awareness Luncheon at the Dallas Country Club with Nancy Swenson serving as honorary chair.
While her professional credentials and achievements go on and on, she’s also a national advocate for effective treatments for those living with Parkinson’s. No, change that. . . . for those suffering with Parkinson’s. There is absolutely no living with the dreaded disease for the patient or his/her family. Thanks to fundraising, there’s been success in slowing down the progressive neurological disorder that affects nearly one million people in the U.S. alone. Of that number 5,000 are in North Texas.
One of the issues facing Parkinson’s patients is their ability to communicate. Parkinson’s “robs patients of the ability to speak clearly and be heard.” The Parkinson Voice Project provides “a highly effective program of intensive voice treatment, called ‘Speak Out!’ Over 95% of patients treated at Parkinson Voice Project experience improvement in their ability to speak.” This past September, PVP went online providing treatments to North Texans via the Internet.
BTW, if you’re wondering why Diane has taken up the cause, it is personal, as well as altruistic. Her husband, John, has been diagnosed with the disease.
If you want to support the program and still can’t get a place at the luncheon, you can still buy a raffle ticket for one of the following four packages:
- “Hoop It Up” Basketball Package” (Value: $5,250) — Mavericks Suite for 1 game for 12 people including food, beverages, and parking plus one autographed and framed Nowitzki jersey.
- “Pamper Me Beautiful” Package” (Value: $1,700) — $500 of jewelry by Ada Rosa McNeff, $400 gift card at Four Seasons Spa, $300 NorthPark Gold, Spa package at Grand Spa, dinner for 4 at Bent Tree Country Club and cosmetics gift basket.
- “Family Fun Package” (Value: $2,650) — Private tour of the Dallas Zoo, two round-trip tickets on Southwest Airlines, four tickets to Sea World San Antonio, four tickets to the Dallas Arboretum, family 4 pack to a Texas Rangers game, four tickets to the Cowboys Stadium Tour, four passes to JumpStreet, AMF Richardson Bowling family pack, $125 gift card to Central Market, gift Basket from World Market, $50 gift card to Formaggio and $25 gift card to Magic Time Machine.
- “Golfing Around Dallas” package (Value: $2,000) — Four rounds of golf at Stonebriar Country Club, four rounds of golf and cart rental at Bent Tree Country Club, four rounds of golf and cart rental at Buffalo Creek Country Club, nine-hole round of golf for 4 at Hank Haney Golf, 30 Minute lesson at Hank Haney Golf School and Parkinson Voice Project embroidered golf shirt
Photo provided by Parkinson Voice Project
Jennifer Cody, MS, CCC-SLP says
Thank you so much for including our event in your blog! It is important to get the word out about our cause, and your help is much appreciated. We feel lucky to have Diane Rehm as a guest speaker, and the overwhelming interest in our event is both deeply flattering and exhilarating!
Although the diagnosis of Parkinson’s can seem like a hopeless death sentence, it is actually one of the few neurological disorders that responds very favorably to rehabilitation. With quality treatment and therapies, people with Parkinson’s can absolutely live long, productive, and worthwhile lives for years, even decades, after diagnosis… they do, indeed, live with Parkinson’s. Part of the message our organization wishes to share with the community is that there is hope for those living with Parkinson’s, and while fundraising for a cure for future patients is important, Parkinson Voice Project’s focus is to ensure that everyone in the Parkinson’s community has access to quality speech treatment that can make their lives better now. And it is true – the patients involved in our programs are vital, active members of our community that range from working lawyers, artists, and businesspeople to retired people who travel, raise their grandchildren, and dedicate their time to our communities and churches by volunteering. They are truly an amazing group of people.
I hope the Parkinson Awareness Luncheon helps spread the word to the community that you can truly LIVE with Parkinson’s. Please take a look at a video we produced this year about our program – it’s very inspiring!
http://youtu.be/r2Rw51GTrio