Gala supports Parkinson’s research

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan kicked off 2019 by joining the Kirk Gibson Foundation for Parkinson's and the Michigan Parkinson Foundation for a yearlong awareness and fundraising campaign to support additional clinical research toward a cure for Parkinson’s.

As part of that commitment, Blue Cross President and CEO Daniel J. Loepp and wife Amy will serve as executive chairs for the Everybody versus Parkinson’s gala on Oct. 19 at the Sound Board at the Motor City Casino.

Both the Kirk Gibson Foundation for Parkinson's and the Michigan Parkinson Foundation will benefit from the gala, and Gibson is grateful for everyone who is working to make the event a success.

People like Dan and Amy are what inspire me and many others to be great teammates, so we are honored to have them as our chairs, Gibson said.

Parkinson’s reach

Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative disease that can affect a person’s movement and cognition. It affects more than a million people in the United States.

The cause is personal for Loepp, whose dad, Robert, suffered from Parkinson’s and died in 2014 after a long battle with the disease.

In 2015, Gibson was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. And the former Detroit Tiger and two-time World Series champion decided to use his star power to shine a light on the disease. He expanded the mission of his foundation — the Kirk Gibson Foundation, which was started in 1996 to provide college scholarships to students at Waterford Kettering and Clarkston high schools — to raise awareness and funding for Parkinson’s research. The foundation promotes collaboration, cooperation and teamwork, which set the stage for its work with Blue Cross and the Michigan Parkinson Foundation.

Blue Cross’ commitment

As part of the partnership, there have been educational summits in which experts discussed research taking place in Michigan. There also have been fundraising events.

At Blue Cross’ Corporate Golf Outing on Aug. 9, Kirk Gibson and wife Sharon were the co-emcees. The event, which brought together 288 people for a day of golf, lunch, contests and prizes, raised $2,595. Participants wore red in support of Parkinson’s.

On April 24, Blue Cross employees and executive staff across the state took part in Blue Cross’ annual Walk@Lunch Day. For every employee who registered this year, Blue Cross donated $1 toward Parkinson’s research — resulting in a donation of more than $2,275.

To register for the Oct. 19 gala, click here.

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