Teaneck—Back To… A Future Without Parkinson’s, a community fundraising event for Parkinson’s Research, will take place on Sunday, October 18th, beginning with a 10 a.m. showing of Back to the Future at Teaneck Cinemas, followed by a Sponsors’ Brunch hosted by Holy Name Medical Center (HNMC). Parkinson’s is a progressive and incurable neurological disease and, in the coming year, 60,000 new cases will be diagnosed in the U.S. alone.
The date for the event, organized by Team Fox and the DebbyLou Charitable Fund, was set to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the release of the film, starring Michael J. Fox. Team Fox, the grassroots arm of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, is the vehicle through which individuals and communities raise money for Parkinson’s research. This chapter of Team Fox, spearheaded by Debby and Louis Flancbaum of Teaneck, following Lou’s diagnosis with Parkinson’s, has raised more than $200,000 since 2010 with community support and the participation of local businesses.
“I wake up every morning and, almost always, the first thing on my mind is still the shock that my husband has Parkinson’s disease,” Debby Flancbaum said. “I want to find a cure in his lifetime to help him and others.” “The generosity and participation of Teaneck Cinemas’ owner, Matthew Latten, Holy Name Medical Center and Jack Wasserman of Fairway Kosher Caterers, to name a few, make this a tremendous opportunity to provide an entertaining and informative day while raising much-needed funds to help find a cure.”
DocBrown and Marty McFly impersonators, and a Delorean outside the theater, plus a silent auction and raffle prizes will add to the fun and excitement at the recently renovated movie venue Matt envisioned as the perfect place to bring the community together for a great cause. Back To…A Future Without Parkinson’s is rapidly gaining momentum in Teaneck and inquiries from our surrounding Bergen County neighbors, the Flancbaums said.
Jacqueline Kates, Holy Name’s Community Relations and Public Affairs Coordinator and a former Teaneck mayor, presented the idea of donating event space for the Sponsors’ Brunch to Michael Maron, President and Chief Executive Officer of Holy Name Medical Center. His sentiment, she said, was that this is a very important cause for HNMC to support. Mrs. Kates added, “I am gratified that Mr. Maron strongly agrees that Holy Name should be part of this community effort to raise money for research to help the fight against Parkinson’s disease.”
The DaTscan™ test, the first FDA-approved radiopharmaceutical imaging agent to help physicians evaluate patients with suspected Parkinson’s disease and other Parkinsonian syndromes, is offered at HNMC. It is the only test that allows doctors to diagnosis Parkinson’s with certainty, which means that people who do have Parkinson’s can begin receiving proper treatment as early as possible. HNMC also has therapists who are specially trained to work with Parkinson’s patients and their families at its Center for Physical Rehabilitation on the Holy Name campus as well as at HNH Fitness, Holy Name’s medically based fitness center in Oradell.
Holy Name plans to have some of their physicians and physical rehabilitation specialists speak about Parkinson’s from a medical point of view at the Sponsors’ Brunch. “Many businesses and organizations in the community will be involved,” Mrs. Kates said, “and Holy Name wants to be right there in the forefront of the participation.”
For more information about the Back To… A Future Without Parkinson’s movie event and Sponsors’ Brunch, please contact Debby Flancbaum, 551-486-5756 or email Lou Flancbaum, [email protected]. Tickets can be purchased for the event and donations can be made through the Team Fox website backtoafuture.com.
