Newspaper Page Text
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
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