SAN JOSE, CA – The Parkinson’s Foundation will host the 10th annual Moving Day San Jose walk on Saturday, April 20, 2024, at Lake Cunningham Regional Park. More than 400 people are expected to take part in movement demonstrations and a 5K walk to beat Parkinson’s. The family-friendly, in-person event is one of 45 Moving Days taking place across the country in 2024. Funds raised through Moving Day support cutting-edge research, quality of care initiatives 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 San Jose will be fun and inspiring, including demonstrations of 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 nearly $40 million supporting the Parkinson’s Foundation’s mission to make life better for people with Parkinson’s disease.
This year, the California Chapter of the Parkinson’s Foundation will honor Ann Boylan, a person living with Parkinson’s disease, and Robert Magbanua, Recreation Program Coordinator for the Mark Green Sports Center in Union City.
For Ann Igarashi Boylan, wife of forty-two years to the late William Boylan, mother of two sons, Daniel and Liam, and now grandmother of four, her diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease in 2012 was her “retirement present after thirty-three years of public school teaching.” Parkinson’s became the catalyst for exercise, learning, and activism. Ann joined the Parkinson’s Foundation Women and PD TALK project, which addressed how Parkinson’s disease affects women differently from men. In 2014, Ann joined the grassroots organizing committee for the very first Moving Day San Jose walk. She runs a weekly support group called the Big Brain Book Club. In 2019, Ann received the Parkinson’s Foundation Outstanding Volunteer of the Year award. Ann has a B.A. from Grinnell College and an M.A. from Brown University. She lives in Union City, CA.
Robert Magbanua has a B.S. and M.S. in Kinesiology from San Francisco State University. In his professional work, he coordinates fitness programs and events for the City of Union City – Community & Recreation Services Department. He helped start the Parkinson’s Exercise Program in Union City in 2016, and ever since then, has been involved in the fight against Parkinson’s disease. He has always enjoyed pushing himself towards his potential in the gym, but what he finds most rewarding is helping others reach theirs.
When asked why he is supporting the Parkinson’s Foundation and Moving Day, Robert says, “The Parkinson’s community inspires me to become a better professional, coach, and person. I am so grateful to the Parkinson’s Foundation for the work that they do, and for events like Moving Day, an event that has provided people like me a chance to make a meaningful difference in the world through the community grants awarded to our city (Union City). I want to thank the Parkinson’s Foundation, all of our coaches and assistants past and present, and the Union City Community & Recreation Services director Corina Hahn for her mentorship throughout the process of creating our exercise program.”
Robert, Ann, and the All Aboard Our Union City A Train team have raised over $87,000 for Moving Day San Jose since 2016.
Fundraising at the walk is important, but so is the social aspect. “Moving Day is vital not only because it is our largest fundraising event of the year, but because it brings the Parkinson’s community together,” said Gena Lennon, Senior Development Director for PF’s California Chapter. “This community really supports each other and Robert does an amazing job bringing energy and hope to everyone who takes his Parkinson’s exercise classes,” she continued.
To learn more about Moving Day San Jose and how you, your family and friends, and your company can get involved, please visit MovingDaySanJose.org. Moving Day is made possible, in part, through the generous support of national and local partners.
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 10 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.
