The Parkinson’s Foundation will host Moving Day Salt Lake City on Saturday, May 4, 2024 at Liberty Park. More than 200 people are expected to take part in movement demonstrations and a 1.4 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. This will be the first year the Parkinson’s Foundation is hosting Moving Day in Utah and the event has a goal of raising $60,000 to support the Rocky Mountain Chapter. 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 Salt Lake City will be fun and inspiring, including demonstrations of boxing, dance, and other movement disciplines 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 Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Parkinson’s Foundation will be honoring Dale George at Moving Day Salt Lake City. Dale is a retired civil servant who worked 31 years at Hill Air Force Base. For 22 of those years, he also served in the United States Air Force Reserve, where he met his wife, Cindy.

Dale’s Parkinson’s disease (PD) journey began in the fall of 2011, at the age of 51, when he was officially diagnosed with the disease. In 2013, Dale founded the Davis County Parkinson’s Support Group. For the past ten years, Dale has scheduled a wide variety of guests to come and speak to the group, including neurologists, physical therapists, psychologists, motivational speakers, and dietitians.

Dale continues to volunteer in numerous PD studies, dealing with symptoms such as communication, balance, hand-eye coordination, and speech. He even wore the same t-shirt for a week, to assist training canines to pick up on the scent of Parkinson’s.

Dale is not shy about sharing his PD journey. He has briefed at symposiums and support groups on several occasions and is part of the Moving Day planning committee. Dale’s favorite thing about events like Moving Day are how they help to spread awareness, provide resources, raise funding and bring us all together. Plus, he says, “it’s fun to exercise and get moving with friends and family!”

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.

To learn more about Moving Day Salt Lake City and how you, your family and friends, and your company can get involved, please visit MovingDaySaltLakeCity.org. Moving Day is made possible, in part, through the generous support of national and local partners including: the University of Utah, Intermountain Health, Merz, Abbvie, Medtronic, Encompass, Right at Home of Salt Lake, the Northern Utah Rehabilitation Hospital, and Supernus.