For Immediate Release
Contact: Carol Walton
Parkinson’s Unity Walk
1-866-PUW-WALK
(1-866-789-9255) cwalton@parkinsonalliance.net
Alan Bonander Humanitarian Award Presented to Nancy Abraham and Brenda Tucker—Co-Founders of PLWP
New York City
On Thursday evening, May 28th, at the Parkinson’s Unity Walk reception held in New York City Hall’s historic Council Chambers, Carol Walton, Executive Director of the Parkinson’s Unity Walk, and Margot Zobel, last year’s recipient and Founder of the Parkinson’s Unity Walk, awarded the Alan Bonander Humanitarian Award to Nancy Abraham and Brenda Tucker, co-Founders of People Living with Parkinson’s (PLWP). The Alan Bonander Humanitarian Award is presented yearly to an individual or individuals who make an exemplary contribution to Parkinson’s education and advocacy.
Nancy and Brenda, both living with Parkinson’s, first “met” in 1998 in an Internet chat room hosted by Massachusetts General Hospital. While Nancy and Brenda are fortunate to have spouses that give emotional and financial support, they learned through the chat room that there are many other people with Parkinson’s who are not as fortunate. They decided to do something about it. In August 1999, Nancy flew from NY to Tennessee to meet Brenda in person. Fueled with passion to make a positive difference in the lives of persons touched by Parkinson’s, they launched the Web site “PLWP, People Living with Parkinson's” in April 2000.
“PLWP’s concern is how the debilitation caused from Parkinson’s affects the quality of life for many due to loss of employment and the high cost of medications. Our organization’s goals are to help alleviate some of the burden and to provide support to those living with Parkinson’s disease and their families,” explains Brenda and Nancy.
PLWP created the “Benevolence Program” to provide limited financial assistance to PLWP members when such assistance is likely to be effective in helping the applicant find a long-term solution to his or her difficulty. Tom Abraham, Nancy’s husband, beamed with pride adding, “I am most proud of how PLWP is helping people and doing it with compassion and the personal touch.” Through chat rooms and forums, the PLWP site offers an active gathering place to “compare notes and share.” While Nancy and Brenda look forward to the day Parkinson’s is cured, they are proud that their international non-profit organization has over 500 members.
The accomplishments of PLWP are many. In addition to the Web site, PLWP sponsors the “Patients & Providers Program” to provide round table discussion between medical professionals, patients, and families. Additionally, Nancy and Brenda addressed a group of 5,000 medical professionals last year at Harvard’s Pri-Med Conference in Boston Massachusetts. They are actively supporting Parkinson’s advocacy efforts through the Parkinson’s Action Network, and for the past three years have had a team at the Parkinson’s Unity Walk.
The Parkinson’s Unity Walk is proud of the contribution Nancy Abraham and Brenda Tucker are making to the Parkinson’s community. For more information on how you can get involved with PLWP, please visit their Web site at:
www.plwp.org.
For more information, please contact the Parkinson’s Unity Walk at 633 Third Avenue, 27th Floor, New York, New York 10017; Phone: (toll free) 1-866-PUW-WALK (1-866-789-9255; Fax: 609-688-0875; E-mail: info@unitywalk.org; Web: www.unitywalk.org.
