The American Parkinson Disease Association was founded in 1961 to Ease the Burden - Find the Cure for Parkinson's disease.  In that time APDA has raised and awarded more than $86 million to patient services and education and has been a funding partner in most of the major Parkinson’s disease scientific breakthroughs.  As the country’s largest grassroots organization serving more than 1 million Americans with Parkinson's disease and their families, APDA’s energy is focused on research, patient services, education and raising public awareness.  Funding includes support of a national network of regional Information and Referral (I&R) Centers, chapters, support groups, eight Centers for Advanced Research, and grants to fund the most promising research toward discovering the cause(s) and finding the cure for Parkinson’s.