Danville d'Elegance Foundation Joins Forces with Michael J. Fox Foundation and Parkinson's Institute in the Fight Against Parkinson's Disease

DANVILLE, Calif., Sept. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Danville d'Elegance Foundation is joining forces with The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF) and The Parkinson's Institute (PI) to host a gala event and car show to support the fight against Parkinson's disease. The annual festivities, official Team Fox events that will be held in Danville, California, will begin with a ticketed evening gala and live auction on Saturday, September 18. A public car show, Danville Concours d'Elegance, featuring some of the world's finest automobiles will be held the following day. Proceeds from auction items and ticket sales as well as donations to the free car show will benefit both MJFF and PI.

"The Danville d'Elegance Foundation is an incredible example of what a small but dedicated group of people can do to support Parkinson's research," says MJFF CEO Katie Hood. "Through 'cool cars for a cause' the committee members of the Foundation have turned their personal connections to PD into a fun and creative way to fund critical scientific programs to help others affected by the disease."

Now in its sixth year, the Danville d'Elegance Foundation events have historically focused on raising funds for patient care in the local community. This year, the Foundation, co-chaired and founded by Jim and Chris Edlund, has partnered with Team Fox, the grassroots community fundraising arm of MJFF, to include support for Parkinson's research.

"With an extensive history of Parkinson's disease in the Edlund family, we have chosen to focus our philanthropy on fighting the disease," says Jim Edlund. "MJFF exemplifies a best-in-class approach to funding important studies in the search for a cure for PD while PI continues to provide world-class patient care for those living with the disease today."

The Blackhawk Auto Museum has generously donated their space for the gala and live auction which includes the chance to bid on a day at the track with the Renault team in Hungary. The car show, which also includes a silent auction and wine tasting, will take place in downtown Danville.

"I want to congratulate Jim Edlund and the entire committee on the occasion of Danville d'Elegance," said Michael J. Fox in a taped message to event attendees. "Years ago, I played a character who drove an exotic automobile straight into the future. It didn't occur to me then that a creative group of people might one day find a way to turn that science fiction plot into a reality. With your friendship and commitment, and high impact research being carried out by our partners like The Parkinson's Institute, we are going to create a future without Parkinson's."

For more information about the events and to purchase tickets, visit www.danville-delegance.org.

About The Michael J. Fox Foundation

The Michael J. Fox Foundation is dedicated to ensuring the development of better treatments, and ultimately a cure, for Parkinson's disease through an aggressively funded research agenda. MJFF has funded almost $196 million in research to date. For more information, visit www.michaeljfox.org.

About Team Fox

Team Fox provides guidance, tools and resources for the thousands of amazing people all over the world who are walking, running, blogging, jogging, paddling, pedaling, eating, drinking, shopping and dancing to raise funds and awareness for Parkinson's research. For more information, visit www.teamfox.org.

About Danville D'elegance Foundation

The Danville d'Elegance Foundation is 100 percent volunteer run and organized with event proceeds going to Parkinson's research, treatment, patient care and related causes.

About The Parkinson's Institute

The Parkinson's Institute and Clinical Center is America's only independent nonprofit organization that provides basic and clinical research, clinical trials and a comprehensive movement disorder patient clinic for Parkinson's disease and related neurological movement disorders, all under one roof. PI's mission is to find the causes, provide first class patient care and discover a cure.

SOURCE Michael J. Fox Foundation