Flathead Valley Parkinson's Support Group

Human Powered Potential -rowing to benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. JUNE 2024

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Rowing To Beat Parkinson’s.

The goal of Human Powered Potential is to explore and expand our capacity for endurance — mental, physical and spiritual — while engaging in endeavors intended to test our limits. The team’s current challenge is to row across the Pacific from California to Hawaii in June 2024, as a part of the World’s Toughest Row.

Our team has more than 125 years of human-powered experience including climbs on 8000-meter peaks in the Himalaya; single-push alpine ascents in Alaska, Canada and South America; ultra-running, cycling, and skiing events; and the Race Across America (RAAM).

We are rowing to benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

A Letter from the Team

On behalf of the entire Human Powered Potential (HPP) team, welcome to our adventure. We are seeking to understand and expand our capacity for endurance through our participation in the World’s Toughest Row — an ocean rowing event from California to Hawaii that begins in June 2024. In the process, we are raising money to support research into finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s disease is a progressive disorder that is caused by degeneration of nerve cells in the part of the brain which controls movement.  It can be debilitating, and there is currently no cure.  

The HPP team has four crewmen who will row 24 hours each day in 2-hour shifts until we reach our destination, 2800 miles—and likely 30 to 40 days—later. As we train to expand our capacity for endurance—as individuals and as a team, we are partnering with the Michael J. Fox Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to:  

• Building improved knowledge about the lived experience of Parkinson’s disease
• Finding an objective test for Parkinson’s
• Engaging patients in research 
• Supporting the development of new treatments and a cure

One member of our crew — Patrick Morrissey — is currently living with Parkinson’s, as is Matt Ackerman, an honorary team member and our fundraising lead. We know through their experiences that with the right support and resources, individuals living with Parkinson’s can lead fulfilling lives.

We are confident that the research supported by the Michael J. Fox Foundation will continue to bring forward ways to lessen the impact of Parkinson’s on those living with it, and ultimately cure this insidious disease. The motto of the Michael J. Fox foundation is that they are there until Parkinson’s is not; we want to do our part to support this. 

We will endeavor to row with the power and strength of everyone who is impacted by Parkinson’s. And we literally have the power and strength of one such individual crewing our boat. We are reaching out to you today to ask for a charitable donation to help fund the mission of the Michael J. Fox Foundation and our efforts to raise awareness.

Donations are tax deductible and can be made through this website.

Thank you for your time and consideration. Together, we can endure to make a difference in the fight against Parkinson’s Disease.

With warm regards,

The Human Powered Potential Team

To read more: https://humanpoweredpotential.org/