The Michael J Fox Foundation “Building Hope.”

What is it? The Michael J. Fox Foundation is an organization which is dedicated to find a cure for Parkinson's’ Disease. The foundation was established by Michael J. Fox himself in 2000. Since then Fox was able to make his very own foundation the worlds’ largest non-profit contributor to Parkinson’s Disease. Taking in over 350 million dollars for Parkinson’s research for its’ 13 year reign.

Who’s Michael J. Fox? Michael J Fox was born June 9th 1961 to parents Bill and Phyllis Fox in Edmonton, Alberta Canada. At an early age of 15 in 1979, Fox starred in the Canadian T.V. series Leo & Me. Then in 1980 Fox was cast as Scott Larson in Midnight Madness and then again in 1982 in Class of 1984.

Fox in 1985 After some time in the independent films, 1 film came up that sky rocketed Fox to international fame. That film was “Back to the Future.” “Wait a minute, Doc. Ah... Are you telling me that you built a time machine... out of a DeLorean? “ -Fox’s character Marty McFly reacting to Doc Browns’ new invention.

Illness Strikes Fox started displaying symptoms of Parkinson's disease in 1990 while shooting the movie Doc Hollywood, although he was not properly diagnosed until the next year. After his diagnosis, Fox began drinking more heavily than in the past; however, he sought help and stopped drinking altogether. In 1998, he decided to go public with his condition, and since then he has been a strong advocate of Parkinson's disease research.

Later Career and T.M.J.F.F During the late and early 2000’s Fox had mainly been providing voice-overs for films like Stuart Little and Atlantis: The Lost Empire. In 2000 was when he decided to start the Michael J. Fox Foundation, to help other Parkinson’s sufferers like himself.

What is Parkinson's’? Parkinson's’ is a disorder in the central nervous system, which includes the brain and spine. In the very deep parts of the brain, there is a collection of nerve cells that help control movement, known as the basal ganglia. In a person with Parkinson's disease, these nerve cells are damaged and do not work as well as they should. These nerve cells make and use a brain chemical called dopamine to send messages to other parts of the brain to coordinate body movements. When someone has Parkinson's disease, dopamine levels are low. So, the body doesn't get the right messages it needs to move normally.

Symptoms Symptoms of Parkinson’s include tremors or trembling (shaking hands are often the most telltale signs of it); difficulty maintaining balance and coordination; trouble standing or walking; stiffness; and general slowness. Also they might have trouble smiling, talking, or swallowing. Their faces may appear flat and without expression, but people with Parkinson's continue to have feelings even though their faces don't always show it. Also people with the disease can have trouble with thinking and remembering.

Causes Certain medications. Certain drugs such as antipsychotics used to treat severe paranoia and schizophrenia can cause a person to experience symptoms that resemble Parkinson's disease (Parkinsonism). Shy-Drager syndrome. This is a rare degenerative condition that produces symptoms similar to Parkinson's disease. Street drugs. MPTP, a synthetic heroin contaminant, can cause severe Parkinson's disease-like symptoms. Blood vessel disorders. Although rare, stroke and atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) can cause symptoms similar to Parkinson's disease.

What I Know What I didn’t know How the revenue is split up - It was an international The different events that foundation. are organized - It constantly has ongoing When it was founded, and charity events, worldwide. who’s idea it was. - 89% of funds taken in go to Since its’ beginning it Parkinson's’ research. raised over $350 million. It was the most successful contributor to Parkinson’s research

Primary Sources: Secondary Sources: Reading books Info Websites Secondary Sources: The Michael J. Fox Foundation Websites: http://www.michaeljfox.ca/ https://www.michaeljfox.org/foundation/index.html https://www.michaeljfox.org/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Michael_J._Fox_Foundation

Sources Video Link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dw_BmJhTzTI "Foxfeed Blog." About The Michael J. Fox Foundation for ParkinsonÂ’s Research. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Dec. 2013. <https://www.michaeljfox.org/foundation/index.html>. "KidsHealth." Parkinson's Disease. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Dec. 2013. <http://kidshealth.org/kid/grownup/conditions/parkinson.html>. "Michael J. Fox." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Aug. 2013. Web. 8 Dec. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_J._Fox>. "Our single, urgent goal: Eliminate Parkinson's disease in our lifetime.." The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Dec. 2013. <https://www.michaeljfox.org/>. "The role of electronic technologies in promoting healthy aging." The role of electronic technologies in promoting healthy aging. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Dec. 2013. <http://ts- 1.eee.hku.hk/ccst9015sp12/healthy-aging/how-et-promote-healthy-aging/parkinsons-disease/>. "FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS." Frequently Asked Questions: Michael J. Fox Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Dec. 2013. <https://www.michaeljfox.org/foundation/faq.html> Video Link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dw_BmJhTzTI

Thank You!