About The Islander. (St. Simons Island, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 30, 2024)
September 30, 2024, The Islander, Page 11 The Glynn County Parkinson’s Disease Support Group (GCPSG) recently received its 501c3 status which means the group can now ac cept taxable donations. In this case the donations will go to making sure its adaptive pro grams can remain viable and free to all participants. The reason for the new tax status is that their Florida sponsor had to withdraw economic support from the fitness center adaptive program. GCPSG was initially formed post pandemic in late 2021. The two co founders, both have Parkinson’s. Tilman Blakley (now deceased from the disease), Mike McKinney, and a small group of volunteers, investi gated and found that Glynn County and the Golden Isles area were se verely lacking in Parkinson’s Dis ease (PD) resources. Nor did the group have a feel for how large Glynn’s PD community might be given the large number of retirees. That question was quickly answered after the first two meet ings held at the St. Simons United Methodist Church with well over 100 people attending each meeting. Those who came to the meetings were in every stage of Parkinson’s including some in wheelchairs, on walkers, canes and all of them accom panied by very emotional caregivers. “We were shocked at the turnout,” McKinney said. “We expected maybe at best 20 attendees. Here we were in a position of having no experience in leading and organizing such a s large Parkinson’s population.” The support group now has close to 300 active contacts. The leadership turned to a much larger Parkinson’s non-profit orga nization headquarted in Jackson ville that specializes in providing administrative and financial help to smaller support groups in the north eastern part of Florida. The Glynn County group became the first Geor gia chapter under their guidance and financial backing. The group also aligned itself with Glynn County’s “Memory Matters” non-profit Alzheimer/ dementia or ganization directed by Julie Thorpe. They provide a robust set of resources to assist our People with Parkinson’s (PwP) and their caregivers with the cognitive component of Parkinson’s. GCPSG’s first project was to es tablish an adaptive fitness program. Research shows, and is heralded by all the large Parkinson’s organiza tions and foundations, that adaptive fitness provides for a higher qual ity of life and can even slow or re verse the progression of the disease. “Movement is medicine.” Answering the call to create the program, the ‘The Club’ fitness center on St. Simons Island, under the direction of Angela Dineen and Catherine Fleming, quickly stepped in and provided the necessary exer cise room, equipment, and certified instructors, Scott Fedison and Jes sica Burke. This program is over a Local Parkinson's group becomes 501c3 By Pamela Permar-Shierling year and a half old and has been a huge success with 50 to 70 people participating in the twice weekly sessions. In fact, this adaptive program was just recognized for excellence by the National Parkinson’s Foundation and is receiving a coveted “Commu nity Outreach Grant” for 2024. The fitness program is just one of 92 support groups across the nation to receive this grant from the Foun dation. Its purpose is to ensure the continued operational success of the class, and ensure it remains free of charge for all the Glynn County Par kinson’s community. A second adaptive program was established at the Brunswick YMCA under the direction of Tyree Sheldon. The program introduced Parkinson’s boxing. It is equivalent to the well- known Parkinson’s “Rock Steady” boxing with certified instructor, Sara Cook. Chair Yoga is available for the more balance challenged PwPs and is instructed by the very talented and experienced instructor, Angie Hutchinson. Another major important initia tive the GCPSG wanted to under take was to partner with the South east Georgia Health System (SGHS) and the National Parkinson’s Foun dation to introduce a learning collab orative for Parkinson’s Disease. According to SGHS the Health System partnered with the local Parkinson’s Support Group initially to consider how the Health System could support exercise and move ment / adaptive activities in the com munity for people with Parkinson’s disease. Leaders from the Health System Rehabilitation Services sent physi cal therapy staff to education and training in LSVT (Lee Silverman Voice Technique) BIG which has been extended to address limb motor systems. This intensive, one-on-one treat ment is designed to help individuals with Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions improve their walking, balance, and vari ous daily activities, such as writing, dressing, and rising from low chairs, as well as job-related tasks. Because of the relationship with the Parkinson’s Support Group, the Health System developed a positive relationship with the National Par kinson’s Foundation. The Health System is currently participating in a Parkinson’s Foundation Learning Collaborative with a number of well- known hospitals and health systems across the United States. The collaborative is helping hos pitals develop policies and protocols to provide ‘best practice’ care for pa tients with Parkinson’s Disease who need to visit a hospital for care. In April GCPSG was told by their Florida sponsoring organization that they could no longer economically afford to sponsor the fitness center adaptive program. The GCPSG leadership quickly made the decision to become a 501(c) (3) nonprofit entity giving the group the ability to accept tax-free dona tions to ensure that the adaptive program remains viable and free to all participants. To donate directly donate to the Parkinson’s adaptive fitness pro gram and help give the PwPs and their caregivers a chance to fight back against this devastating dis ease, a tax free donation may be made to: GC Parkinsons Org, 1700 Frederi ca Rd, Suite 101-229, SSI, GA 31522. Ensure you include your name and address if you want the donation to be tax deductible. You will be mailed a receipt. You can also donate online at gcparkinsons.org For questions / information the organization can be reached at glynncountyparkinsons@gmail.com Party Rental American Legion Post #166 1013 Arthur Moore Drive (Gascoigne Bluff) St. Simons Island Perfect for Indoor / Outdoor Parties • Wedding Receptions Meetings • Oyster Roasts • Birthdays • Reunions Information: 404-277-8987 • gbellis@comcast.net BY MARRIOTT Football Weekends at the Special Weekend Rates Starting Residence inn COURTYARD* ,SL *",V •V////C The Shore - Restaurant and Bar at Marriott's Courtyard Hotel on Jekyll Island • Corporate rates for Bulldawg Football • Food and drink specials including garlic butter peel and eat shrimp - $9 • Wings - $8 Draft beer, cocktail, and daquiri specials...domestic and craft buckets of beer beginning at $20 • Football and Beach weekend specials are Saturdays and Sundays only 178 S. Beachview Dr. -Jeklyll Island, Ga. • 912-635-2416
