Editor's Note: For more Foundation news and research updates, read the Spring/Summer 2019 edition of The Fox Focus, our biannual newsletter.

Wendy Lang, 81, of California, admits that her family history pushed her to find out more about neurological diseases -- her mother had Alzheimer's and her father had Parkinson's disease (PD). She made a commitment to research by joining clinical studies, including The Michael J. Fox Foundation's (MJFF) Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative to find biomarkers -- disease indicators that are critical missing links in the search for better PD treatments. Wendy says, "Basically, I was just hoping to help science. I wasn't even thinking that I was going to get a disease. It just never occurred to me."

Genetic testing identified the LRRK2 mutation and in 2017, Wendy was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. "The minute I got my diagnosis, I just researched and made contact with people," recalls Wendy. Being proactive also allowed her to plan for her future and financial security. One of her decisions was to create a charitable gift annuity with MJFF.

To Wendy, giving to the Foundation was obvious -- she wanted to be a part of our successes, as well as the Parkinson's community that Michael J. Fox has played such a large role in. Her direct involvement in research and a charitable gift annuity are something that offered personal and wide-reaching advantages, says Wendy -- "it seemed like a great thing to do to participate in research toward a cure, and then to give to MJFF while getting an income. It's a win-win situation, it absolutely is."

To learn more about planned giving at MJFF, visit plannedgiving.michaeljfox.org.

To chat about the personal benefits of planned giving with MJFF, please contact us at 212-509-1524 or at plannedgiving@michaeljfox.org. We look forward to hearing from you!