Back in 1957, when William Black, founder of Chock full o-Nuts, close friend and company controller, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, he was appalled to learn that no effective therapy was available. Even the most basic research was not being done to better understand the disease….much less to find a cure.

Using his own money, Black created the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation with a simple goal—to find an effective drug treatment for Parkinson’s disease. With large grants to Columbia University a research laboratory was established as well as an endowment to support that research.

Today, Black’s goal for finding an effective treatment for Parkinson’s now includes: fellowship programs to train the next generation of researchers, collaborations with the Parkinson Study Group and the American Academy of Neurology, information and education programs for patients and their families, a Parkinson’s clinical trial awareness program, and advocacy programs that champion the interests of the Parkinson’s community.