Parkinson’s fundraiser has larger goals in second year

JJ Flentke and Teresa Terry will tell you they know how to throw a party.

So it’s no surprise that they also know how to throw a fundraiser. For the second straight year, Flentke and Terry, who are married and operate Boomerang Therapy Works in Vancouver, are throwing a fundraiser to benefit Parkinson’s disease patients and families. Last year’s affair was a 1920s soiree. This year’s theme is a Venetian masquerade. The fundraiser will be from 5 to 8:30 p.m. Friday at The Quarry Senior Living, 415 S.E. 177th Ave., Vancouver.

It’s $70 for a single ticket; $300 for a table of four and shout-outs on social media from Boomerang the Quarry; $600 for a table of eight, social media shout-outs and the opportunity to advertise at the event. All of those come with appetizers, an Italian dinner and two drink tickets.

The proceeds will go to Parkinson’s Resources of Oregon, which provides support and resources in Oregon and Southwest Washington for those with Parkinson’s as well as their family and their caregivers. PRO doesn’t charge for any of the programs they offer, hence the need for fundraising.

“You have your patient, and that patient has a husband, or a wife or a family member, their caregiver,” Terry said. “It’s really important to recognize that the disease spreads its effects to everyone in that person’s family. So someone is helping them get up in the morning and someone is thinking about whether they are going to fall … someone is watching them progress, either rapidly or slowly. It’s really important that those people get recognized, and that people work with them so that they don’t just become the caregiver instead of the spouse, or the caregiver instead of the mother, so that their personal relationship with that person doesn’t get completely subsumed by caregiving.”

There will also be a live and silent auction, but Terry said the focus of the party isn’t just collecting money. It’s more about the opportunity to construct support for people with Parkinson’s or family and friends of a loved one with Parkinson’s.

“We like to do a fundraiser that is not in your face,” Terry said. “I’ve gone to fundraisers where there are six people walking around fleecing you. ‘Buy this, buy that, buy this.’ And that’s not what we want. We’re throwing a party. We want to encourage everyone to come and play, and have a good time and meet people and converse. And if you want to buy something from the silent auction, well, take a look and do that. But it’s not just about raising all this money to give to someone. It’s about the community of people who have Parkinson’s in Vancouver. What we’re trying to do is build that community.”

Last year, the fundraiser was held at Boomerang only months after it opened, and was entirely a Boomerang affair. Flentke, who has a sister diagnosed with Parkinson’s, said about half of the people who showed up wore costumes — Flentke said she has a “top secret outfit” for this year. They surpassed their $5,000 fundraising goal last year, raking in $14,000. This year, the goal is for Boomerang to collect $7,500, and for the Quarry to collect $10,000 for a total of $17,500.

Since opening about a year and a half ago, Boomerang has carved out an important niche in Vancouver. The space provides physical therapy, group exercise and guided exercise programs for baby boomers, seniors and people with neuromuscular disorders.

The venture has been so successful that Flentke, a licensed physical therapist and a certified exercise expert for aging adults, said Boomerang has patients who travel from Tualatin, Oregon and West Linn, Ore., bypassing Portland for care. And just like their fundraisers, the goal is providing hope and having fun.

“I don’t want to be too medicalized,” Flentke said of Boomerang. “When people come in here it’s on purpose (that) it’s a gym-like setting. That’s because you have Parkinson’s disease. That doesn’t mean that’s who you are. That just means we’re going to do these things and we’re going to have fun with it and there’s more to you.”