Richfield High School student Tony Brown, left, and faculty advisor Melissa Whatcott review plans for the Park with Parkinson’s event Oct. 12 in Richfield. The movie night is slated to the held at Richfield High School Thursday, Oct. 26.
Parkinson’s disease is a condition that affects some 500,000 people in the United States, including several people in south central Utah.
A group of Richfield High School students is organizing an event to help raise money for the Michael J. Fox Foundation, one the leading organizations in the world for combating Parkinson’s.
“We’re going to host a movie in the commons area,” said Tony Brown, one of the students involved in the project. The community is invited to park a chair and enjoy a fun night, while helping to raise money for research into Parkinson’s.
Brown said the movie will be a family friendly, Halloween-themed film.
The Park with Parkinson’s movie night, set for Thursday, Oct. 26, is being organized both as a fundraiser and night of fun for anyone who wants to participate.
“The movie is free, but we are asking for donations,” Brown said. The suggested donation is $5.
There will also be concessions and tickets for a prize drawing for sale at the movie.
“We just know there are people in our communities that are affected by it,” said Melissa Whatcott, faculty advisor. The students involved represent RHS’s 2017-18 crop of Sterling Scholars.
“I’m so impressed with them,” Whatcott said.
People are encouraged to bring chairs, blankets or whatever else they want to be comfortable while watching a movie.
For Whatcott, the Park with Parkinson’s effort has a personal meaning for her, as the disease has affected her family for the last several years.
Her father has battled with the condition for a decade.
“It affects everyone differently,” Whatcott said. She said one example of how it has affected her family is that her dad is no longer able to do all the things around the house that he used to. Simple things that many people take for granted, such as taking out the trash or going for a walk have become extremely difficult due to the disease.
“It’s a frustrating disease,” Whatcott said. “The body can’t do what your mind wants it to.”
The disease on its own isn’t fatal, but complications from it make it the 14th leading cause of death in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Everyone is invited to the Park with Parkinson’s night, which is set to start at 7 PM.
http://www.richfieldreaper.com/news/local/article_b2c49db8-b43f-11e7-9a69-3b1959576e82.html
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