The World Parkinson’s Program is a Canadian not-for-profit charitable global organization. It was founded by world-renowned Canadian neurologist, Dr. Abdul Qayyum Rana, in 2008. Dr. A.Q. Rana is not only just a clinician and researcher, but also an advocate for patients and caregivers, a philanthropist, a leader in health education, and a reformer. During his childhood, he noticed his grandmother had severe tremors and required constant care. It was only after her death and becoming a physician did he realize his grandmother had Parkinson’s disease. This had a profound impact on him and pushed him to be the individual who he is today.
Dr. Rana’s objectives for the World Parkinson’s Program soon became the mission and vision. Up until 2012, the focus of the World Parkinson’s Program was primary education. In 2012, the scope of the World Parkinson’s Program expanded to include their key services: medications, walkers, canes and other healthcare supplies for people with Parkinson’s living in poverty. In 2017, the organization grew even more by gaining a registered charity status with the Canada Revenue Agency. Since then, the organization has continued to grow with its primary mandate being free medications as this is a key requirement to improve the quality of life of people with Parkinson’s.
The World Parkinson’s Project mission is to improve the quality of life of those affected by Parkinson’s disease through education, advocacy, and providing free medication and supportive services. The World Parkinson’s Program is the only registered Canadian charity that provides free Parkinson’s medications to those in need around the world. Their core belief is that every individual with Parkinson’s disease should have access to medication, education and any other supportive services that will improve their quality of life regardless of where they are in the world and their financial circumstances. The Electronic Recycling Association is proud to contribute to this mission through the donation of a projector to assist them with education programs and awareness. They are still in need of several tablets to use for their fundraising campaigns. These devices are more difficult to obtain for donations as they tend to be cloud locked. The ERA will data wipe your devices but if you are looking to donate your unwanted iPad, please remember to remove the device from your cloud account.
Help the World Parkinson’s Program’s fight against Parkinson’s by joining them on June 12th at 6 pm for the Annual Gala Dinner alongside the motivational speaker John Baumann and world-renowned Canadian neurologist, researcher and founder of World Parkinson’s Program Dr. Abdul Qayyum Rana. Click here to register.