Contact:
Robin Rhea
rrhea@parkinson.org
480-506-0063
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Moving Day Albuquerque Raises Funds and Awareness for Parkinson’s Disease
Albuquerque, NM, April 2024 –The Parkinson’s Foundation will host Moving Day Albuquerque, Saturday, June 1, 2024 at the Nene and Jamie Koch Comprehensive Movement Disorder Center. More than 200 people are expected to take part in movement demonstrations and a 1 mile walk to beat Parkinson’s. The family-friendly, in-person event is one of more than 45 Moving Days taking place across the country in 2024. The event has a goal of raising $60,000 to support the Southwest Chapter of the 
Parkinson’s Foundation. Funds raised through Moving Day support cutting-edge research, improved quality of care and education programs to improve the lives of people with Parkinson’s disease and their families.
Moving Day is more than just a walk. It is a celebration of movement, which is critical in battling the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD). The event in Albuquerque will be fun and inspiring, including demonstrations of boxing, PWR!Moves and more to warm up the crowd for the walk. It is estimated that one million people in the U.S. are living with Parkinson’s, with approximately 90,000 people newly diagnosed each year. Moving Day events across the country have raised more than $40 million supporting the Parkinson’s Foundation’s mission to make life better for people with Parkinson’s disease.
This year the Southwest Chapter will be honoring Rock Steady Boxing Coach Patrick Strosnider at Moving Albuquerque. Coach Strosnider is a native New Mexican who grew up in Albuquerque with ten other siblings. Coach is a former real estate developer whose father lived with Parkinson’s disease for almost 20 years. Coach saw a segment featured on CBS in 2015 done by Leslie Stahl that featured her husband training at a 
Rock Steady Boxing Gym in Brooklyn. After researching the program, he applied for and was accepted to attend a 3-day training camp in Indianapolis, Indian and trained to become a certified Rock Steady Boxing Coach.
Intent on offering the program for his father, he returned to Albuquerque only to learn that his dad’s progression of Parkinson’s disease had advanced to the point he could no longer leave his home to attend wellness classes at the newly opened Rock Steady Boxing ABQ.
Since 2016 Patrick has served as Head Coach of Rock Steady Boxing ABQ. Today their gym hosts four wellness classes 3 days a week for over 120 adults living with Parkinson’s disease.
One of the critical efforts supported by Moving Day donations is PD GENEration, a clinical study by the Parkinson’s Foundation. PD GENEration examines the genetic foundations of the disease, opening doors to new treatment approaches and, hopefully, a cure. The Foundation is seeking additional participants for the study, and more information will be available at the event.
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About the Parkinson’s Foundation
The Parkinson’s Foundation makes life better for people with Parkinson’s disease by improving care and advancing research toward a cure. In everything we do, we build on the energy, experience, and passion of our global Parkinson’s community. Since 1957, the Parkinson’s Foundation has invested more than $400 million in Parkinson’s research and clinical care. Connect with us on Parkinson.org, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or call (800) 4PD-INFO (473-4636).
About Parkinson’s Disease
Affecting an estimated one million Americans and ten million worldwide, Parkinson’s disease is the second-most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s and is the 14th-leading cause of death in the United States. It is associated with a progressive loss of motor control (e.g., shaking or tremor at rest and lack of facial expression), as well as non-motor symptoms (e.g., depression and anxiety). There is no cure for Parkinson’s and 90,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in the United States alone.
