Eat pancakes on the Lawn to fight Parkinson�s

On October 10 you won’t want to miss the fifth annual Pancakes for Parkinson’s breakfast on the Lawn at UVA, where students flip thousands of flapjacks to raise funds for the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

Founded in 2004, the event has raised nearly $100,000 for the Foundation. This year’s breakfast will take place before UVA’s Homecoming football game against Indiana University, so organizers are hoping for a big turnout. So you better get there early if you want some pancakes, especially those chocolate chip ones. The breakfast is free, but donations are strongly encouraged.

According to a statement released by organizers, over five million people worldwide are living with Parkinson’s disease– a chronic, degenerative neurological disorder whose symptoms typically progress from mild tremors to complete physical incapacitation. There is no known cure, and current treatments mask symptoms but do not alter or slow disease progression. In the United States, 60,000 new cases will be diagnosed this year alone.