Perry's Ice Cream lends support to Parkinson's Foundation

Company’s ‘Community Returns’ program raises nearly $4,000

The Parkinson’s Foundation recently received a nearly $4,000 donation from Perry’s Ice Cream. The monies were raised through the company’s “Community Returns” program, which engages employees in a variety of raffles, games and product sales over a six-month period, helping to accrue donation funds.

Perry’s has long committed itself to giving back to the community. The “Community Returns” program has allowed the company to support many local organizations working within the region.

The organizations supported are chosen from names that are submitted for consideration by employees.

Rob Alexander, a truck driver with Perry’s, suggested the Parkinson’s Foundation be selected as a beneficiary of the program.

Funds will support programming for the Parkinson’s community, as well as ongoing research.

“By doing it this way, we are not only supporting great organizations, but we are also supporting causes that are important to our workers,” said Sales Administrator Jayne Perry, a member of “Community Returns.”

The committee selects two organizations to support each year. The Parkinson’s Foundation was designated for the second half of 2019, so all monies in connection with the program collected from July through December went into the final donation.

The amount is kept secret until the check is revealed to the recipient.

“On the drive over, I was trying to guess what the amount might, but I had no idea. When I saw the check, I was floored by the size of the donation,” said Chris Jamele, development director for the Parkinson’s Foundation New York and New Jersey Chapter.

The donation will help to fund efforts by the Parkinson’s Foundation, including the annual educational symposium in April, a care partner summit in May and ongoing research into effective treatments and, ultimately, a cure for this chronic, progressive neurodegenerative disease.

“Over the past six months, we have learned so much about what the Parkinson’s Foundation does and how it helps the community. We were very happy to be able to support their efforts,” said Stephanie Sullivan, administrative assistant and a member of the “Community Returns” team.