By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
A different kind of holiday punch will be served in St. Joseph.
The Freudenthal Center for Parkinson’s Disease is holding a fundraiser Wednesday entitled Holiday Punch for Parkinson’s Disease, an invitation to the public to donate $15 and join the center in its boxing program.
Freudenthal Executive Director Stephanie Stewart says the boxing program at the center gives those with Parkinson’s Disease strength, coordination, and balance, with balance being very important.
“A lot of our folks with Parkinson’s tend to fall frequently and so working on their balance and giving them an opportunity to try learn how to stabilize themselves if they get caught off guard, to be able to get themselves back into a stable place is really very important for them,” Stewart tells host Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline.
Classes at East Hills Mall will be held Wednesday afternoon at three in the afternoon and six in the evening. Register in advance with the Freudenthal Center for Parkinson’s Disease for a suggested donation of $15 in advance or arrive at the start of class for a suggested $20 donation.
Stewart says the center offers the boxing program as well as other exercise programs, because vigorous exercise has been proven to slow the advance of the disease.
“The research shows that exercise really does work to slow the progression of the disease,” Stewart says. “And that’s really our main goal is to help them to have the best quality of life that they possibly can have with this disease.”
Boxing can also change the attitude of someone struggling with Parkinson’s.
“We tend to see a lot more confidence as they’re walking in after they’ve been working with us for a little while,” according to Stewart. “As they walk in, they have more confidence, because they know that this is something that they can do to fight back against this disease.”
Research is closing in on a cure, but only closing in.
“Unfortunately, we’re not there yet,” Stewart says. “There are a lot of different breakthroughs that are coming, but we’re just not there, yet.”
The Freudenthal Center is celebrating its 3rd anniversary.