In honor of our dear friend and fraternity brother, Jerry Herman ’72, the Hermanators will once again participate in the New England Parkinson’s Ride, a bicycle ride event that raises funds to be presented to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF). The MJFF is the at the forefront of funding research to combat Parkinson’s Disease.
Brother Herman has been an invaluable member of Beta Pi since the day he was initiated. He has held many positions of leadership during his undergraduate years at Penn and with Pi Kappa Alpha Inter/National after his graduation.
Jerry’s wife, Linda, is a leader in raising funds for research to fight this devastating disease. This is Linda’s letter imploring all those that wish to help in finding a cure for this debilitating disease:
Dear Friends and Family,
I hope this email finds all of you doing well and enjoying the end of summer. The weather here in Bethesda, Md is certainly beautiful after a long hot summer.
I will not be riding in Maine this year on September 6 for the New England Parkinson Ride due to an early summer hip replacement that left me with no time to train for a long bike ride. I will be “Cycling in Sync” instead, similar to Covid days. I will either do a short local ride or hop on my peloton for a ride. The plan is to resume our in-person Maine bike ride next September.
Our team’s vital fundraising for the Michael J Fox Foundation will continue!!
Thanks again for everyone’s generous support last year in which the Hermanators raised approximately $40,000 to support the Parkinsons Ride. ALL funds go to the Michael J. Fox Foundation. We hope you all can continue to support us this year.
As a result of our team Hermanators’ success we were once again able to attend the Michael J Fox Foundations MPV Awards banquet and learn first-hand new research initiatives. This research is resulting in several new PD medications and applications, hopefully relieving several PD symptoms for thousands of people.
It has been 18 years since Jerry’s diagnosis and it is my honor as well as members of Hermanators to continue to be part of the New England Parkinsons Ride.
The disease has progressed for Jerry, but he continues to pursue a full schedule of activities, to include his trainer, PT, his adult education classes and now writing a memoir and most importantly, playing with his first ever Grandson, Jake! His philosophy is that the disease should not control his life.
I am reaching out once again for you to help us in this journey. Your support can make a powerful difference as we continue to work together,
To donate, please visit this link: https://give.michaeljfox.org/fundraiser/6194895
Thank you!
Love,
Linda and Jerry