FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Deb Pollack / Drive Toward a Cure (t) 805.320.9248
TASTE OF MOTORSPORTS TEAMS WITH DRIVE TOWARD A CURE TO SCORE A CHARITABLE TRIFECTA
Triad of Premiere Automotive Events Raise $30k for Three Regional Parkinson’s Center of Excellence Facilities
PORTLAND, OR – November 2, 2021 – When Taste of Motorsports, the Pacific Northwest-headquartered premiere automotive lifestyle event decided to expand its presence for 2021, the program also grew its heart – adding an alignment with nonprofit Foundation Drive Toward a Cure and together raising more than $30,000 for Parkinson’s disease.
Derek Torry, Board member for non-profit Foundation Drive Toward a Cure and his wife Kellene (left) express the organization’s gratitude to Stephanie and Tom Floyd (right) organizers for Taste of Motorsports – the northwest premiere automotive luxury lifestyle event – after raising more than $30k to support Parkinson’s Disease and benefit the Foundation’s ‘Access to Care’ fund that is distributed to regional Centers of Excellence for the Parkinson’s Foundation in support of patient care.
Sue Counselman, brand ambassador for Drive Toward a Cure, raises funds at the Portland Taste of Motorsports Event this past summer – each Taste of Motorsports benefits the Foundation through a series of drives, pre-event auctions and on-site experiences.
Taste of Motorsports hosts a series of lifestyle events that include on-track and driving experiences, as well as fundraising endeavors to support Drive Toward a Cure and Parkinson’s Disease.
The team from Taste of Motorsports enthusiastically handles all logistics and programming for charitable driving endeavors before each of the regional Northwest premiere automotive lifestyle events – for more info view www.tasteofmotorsports.com.
By turning the Taste of Motorsports brand into a trio of annual events now held in Portland, Arizona and Sonoma, the charity component opened new channels and an expanded audience for both organizations.
According to Tom Floyd — head of Taste of Motorsports — turning a successful three-year run of pleasurable events catering to luxury, exotic and sports car enthusiasts into one that can help others in need underlines an increasing passion to do more. “We share a commonality with Drive Toward a Cure’s mantra of ‘Cars and Camaraderie’,” said Floyd. “And we’re thrilled to go one step further by encouraging attendees to enjoy additional events that provide 100 percent revenue directly to the charity. And in turn, within each host city, 100 percent of those funds are then provided to the local Parkinson’s Foundation Center of Excellence.”
In 2019, Drive Toward a Cure developed its own ‘Access to Care’ fund with a mission to provide financial assistance to regional Parkinson’s Foundation Centers of Excellence, specifically to fulfill patient care needs. “Having lost my own mother to Parkinson’s nearly 15 years ago, I know first-hand the many challenges patients face and the support that is needed,” said Deb Pollack, founder of Drive Toward a Cure. Pollack noted that in each of the three cities that coincided with 2021 Taste of Motorsports events, significant funds were contributed toward the creation of programs to benefit Parkinson’s patients and growing resources for patient care.
Substantial dollars accrued this year through the Taste of Motorsports programs provided enough funding for Drive Toward a Cure to launch regional patient care programs including:
- Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, AZ — Funding support for the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center’s Hispanic choir to benefit the Spanish-speaking Parkinson’s community, creating a culturally sensitive program designed to improve voice, communication and socialization of Hispanic people living with Parkinson’s Disease (PD) and their care partners, and primarily supporting an otherwise underserved population. Additional funds provided support the creation of a Hispanic musical CD for all attendees at next year’s Parkinson’s World Congress to be held in Spain.
- Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) in Portland, OR, for Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders — Development of a ‘Caregiver’s Academy’ to help prepare and support caregivers involvement with the journey of assuming more care over the progression of PD
Pollack continued to note that “providing funds for stronger grassroots approaches can include anything from bringing patients virtual nutritional education and exercise programs and expanded virtual opportunities if needed, to creating touchpoints of hope for a meaningful purpose. “Most important, we are helping individuals and providing areas of ‘inclusivity’ and involvement.”
A third regional donation was provided to the University of California- San Francisco, (UCSF), Parkinson’s Disease Clinic and Research Center.
About Taste of Motorsports
Held annually since 2018 at the Portland International Raceway (PIR), Taste of Motorsports was conceived in 2016 as a premiere automotive lifestyle event by Tom Floyd, a native of San Diego, California now making his home in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Passionate about racing automobiles and design, Floyd is an entrepreneur and remains involved in several businesses including Elevation Lab, which makes accessories for Apple Products.
As Taste of Motorsports continues to elevate its place among noteworthy automotive events nationwide, presenting sponsor Vasek Polak Collection lends a celebration of Porsche racing heritage and credibility to the brand. Longtime and globally renowned figures within the Porsche community, Vasek Polak and his daughter Maurie bring storytelling, memorabilia, and on-site involvement to each event. Polak and Floyd have had a friendship for more than 30 years and complement each other’s joy of racing.
For 2022, Taste of Motorsports will again host three events at venues in Arizona, Oregon, and California. For more information view www.tasteofmotorsports.com.
About Drive Toward a Cure
Drive Toward a Cure raises funds and awareness for Parkinson’s Disease research AND patient care. Inspired by the camaraderie found within the automotive culture, the organization’s mission benefits equally from both enthusiast communities and industry professionals. Drive Toward a Cure events harness enthusiasm for cars and driving and turn that power into support for ongoing work to improve the lives of those living with Parkinson’s, as well as the research that will hopefully one day lead to a cure. Since 2016, Drive Toward a Cure has raised more than a half million dollars to support BOTH research AND patient care.
Drive Toward a Cure ended 2020 with contributions making an impact of $160,000 and for 2021 continues expanding with localized groups and supporters to benefit alignments with various Centers of Excellence for Parkinson’s’ on a national level through Drive Toward a Cure’s ‘Access to Care Fund’ that currently partners with the Parkinson Foundation and donates to Centers in Portland, Atlanta, San Diego, Phoenix, Houston, Boston, San Francisco, Denver, New York, and Nashville.
Drive Toward a Cure is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that supports beneficiaries including The Michael J. Fox Foundation, the Parkinson’s Foundation, and numerous Centers of Excellence for Parkinson’s. For donations, sponsorship and event registration please visit www.drivetowardacure.org.
About Parkinson’s Disease
Affecting nearly one million Americans and 10 million worldwide, Parkinson’s disease is the second-most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s and is the 14th-leading cause of death in the United States. It is associated with a progressive loss of motor control (e.g., shaking or tremor at rest and lack of facial expression), as well as non-motor symptoms (e.g., depression and anxiety). There is no cure for Parkinson’s and 60,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in the United States alone.
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