Residents of The Villages and surrounding areas will come together this month to support two separate efforts to fund research for and raise awareness of diseases that affect thousands locally and across the nation.
The Parkinson’s Moving Day Walk is Saturday and Walk MS: The Villages is March 21.
Gates open at 9 a.m. Saturday for the Parkinson’s Moving Day: The Villages event at The Villages Polo Club, 700 Buena Vista Blvd. Gates will close at 10:30 a.m. to secure the walking route.
The event is part of a nationwide movement hosted by the Parkinson’s Foundation to unite those living with Parkinson’s and raise money for research on the disease, said Angela Watkins, Florida Chapter Parkinson’s Foundation development manager.
Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative brain disorder that leads to muscle stiffness, tremors, slowed movements, speech changes and more. Common in those 65 and up, Parkinson’s affects nearly 1.1 million Americans, with 80,000 of them living in Florida, according to UF Health.
Watkins said “all eyes will be on The Villages” on Saturday because the Moving Day: The Villages event is the first fundraiser in the nation for the 2026 season.
As of March 6, 99% of the fundraising goal for The Villages walk had been met, with $118,989 of $120,000 raised. There will be four fundraisers across Florida this season and all the funds will stay in the state.
“I am very excited we are at 99 percent of the fundraising goal,” Watkins said. “That really shows the community’s full support, and that will go right back to the Florida chapter. The sponsor support has also increased. I have 16 sponsors joining and roughly 15% of them are new. The big reason we are seeing this money is sponsorship dollars.”
More than 250 people attended the fundraising kick-off in October in The Villages, with 100 people registering for the Moving Day walk that day, Watkins said.
“This just really shows the support for Parkinson’s research in The Villages,” she said.
“I’ve been working closely with the community during the past year and they show up to every event we have. I think more people are becoming aware of the foundation and the whole community has come together to support this movement.”
To learn more about or register for the walk, visit movingdaywalk.org/event/moving-day-the-villages-fl.
On March 21, Walk MS: The Villages 2026 will take place at the same location.
Part of a nationwide fundraising movement hosted by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society to fund research and build awareness about the disease, Walk MS: The Villages will open at 8 a.m. March 21 — with the ceremony beginning at 8:45 a.m. and the walk starting at 9 a.m.
There will be both 1-mile and 3-mile routes during the walk, with all routes being accessible to mobility devices.
Multiple sclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease that breaks down the protective covering of nerves. The disease can cause irreversible damage to nerves and symptoms include numbness, weakness, trouble walking, vision changes and more, according to Mayo Clinic.
Though it affects people of all ages, the disease is historically diagnosed in those ages 20 to 40 with nearly 1 million Americans living with MS, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Over 20,000 Floridians have been diagnosed with the disease, according to UF Health.
The theme of the walk, Circles of Support, provides an interactive way for participants to identify each other at the event based on the colors they are wearing.
Wearing orange means you are living with MS. Wearing green means you are someone who loves and supports a person living with or who lived with MS, and wearing yellow means you support the society’s mission.
With a goal of raising $90,000 for the fundraiser, $38,605,80 has been raised as of March 6.
Multiple Sclerosis Village People, a lifestyle support group in The Villages, is the top fundraising team out of 34 teams, with $20,000 raised as of May 5.
Kathy Klein, a member of Multiple Sclerosis Village People, will be the ceremony host for the walk.
Jeff Parker, also a member of the Multiple Sclerosis Village People, said the mission of the group is to support people living with MS and their caretakers.
“A big part of that is fundraising with the national organization,” said Parker, of the Village of Osceola Hills at Soaring Eagle. “A lot of the top fundraisers are on our team. The way we look at it, it’s nice being the top team, but it’s more important to support the national organization and its mission.”
To donate to, register for or find out more about Walk MS: The Villages, visit events.nationalmssociety.org/2617.
Staff writer Brea Jones can be reached at 352-753-1119, ext. 5414, or brea.jones@thevillagesmedia.com.
