{"id":5779,"date":"2022-04-28T10:29:08","date_gmt":"2022-04-28T10:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beurre.qodeinteractive.com\/?page_id=5779"},"modified":"2025-11-19T09:45:27","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T09:45:27","slug":"history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/helpzite.com\/index.php\/history\/","title":{"rendered":"THE HISTORY OF SDCCPSG AND ITS FOUNDER, DONNE WILLETT"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\n\t\tAbout Us \/ HISTORY<\/span>\n\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\tTHE HISTORY OF SDCCPSG & ITS FOUNDER DONNE WILLETT\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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San Diego Central County Parkinson\u2019s Support Groups (SDCCPSG) would not exist, were it not for Donne Willett, founder of its original support group! On February 23rd, 2005, my husband, John, was diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s disease (PD). My bestfriend since age 6, Susan Howard, SDCCPSG\u2019s current Secretary, picked up a brochure at her church from the Parkinson\u2019s Association of San Diego (PASD) listing resources, including a Pt. Loma Parkinson\u2019s Support Group (PLPSG).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Established in 2004, the California Parkinson\u2019s Disease Registry (CPDR) tracks the number of residents diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s (as of 12\/31\/21, the number was 31,2021, the highest count among states in the nation). California\u2019s Central Valley is often referred to as \u201cParkinson\u2019s Alley\u201d, due to higher-than-average rates of PD in residents. This elevated risk is linked to long-term exposure to pesticides which are used extensively in the agricultural regions large-scale farming operations.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Larger than the states of Rhode Island and Delaware, San Diego is geographically broken up into North, Central, East and South counties. A coastal city, adjacent to the Mexican border, with the 3rd largest population in the nation (3.3 million), the CPDR reported an estimated 9,842 citizens diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s as of May, 2021. Numbers have increased since then. Located in Central San Diego County, Pt. Loma is a 7-mile-long peninsula separating the Pacific Ocean from San Diego Bay and is where John and I started life together.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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A former special education teacher \u201cFlying Solo\u201d (i.e. living on her own) in Pt. Loma, and diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s in 2002, Donne did not let that stop her! For insight into her perspective at the time, read \u201cDonne\u2019s Words\u201d, as dictated to her sister, Delle. With initial assistance from Lester Cohen PhD, a person with Parkinson\u2019s (PwP), Donne started the Pt. Loma Parkinson\u2019s Support Group (PLPSG), offering monthly Wednesday evening meetings held in the San Diego Room of San Diego County\u2019s Health &amp; Human Services Department, meeting every month, 12 months a year! She typically had a speaker, followed by refreshments, and then breakout. Donne was organized, had great presenters, and made it all look effortless. She even held our holiday parties there, decorations and all.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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In 2007, Donne introduced the PLPSG to Rumba taught by Lisbeth Garces at Pt. Loma\u2019s YMCA. Lisbeth\u2019s mother and brother had Parkinson\u2019s, her sister cerebral palsy, and her son muscular dystrophy. Living in Venezuela, Lisbeth chose to come to the United States to seek better medical care for her son, starting the nonprofit, Juan Carlos Foundation, in his name. Thanks to Donne, Lisbeth is now firmly planted in San Diego\u2019s Parkinson\u2019s community, as a Rock Steady Boxing coach, and current PASD liaison to San Diego\u2019s Hispanic Parkinson\u2019s community, facilitating both Parkinson\u2019s education and support groups for them.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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In 2009, SDCCPSG\u2019s Vice-President, Jim Paterniti, PhD, a PwP, collaborated with Lester Cohen, PhD, and together they asked one important question: \u201cWhat do we need to do to empower PwP to live their best life?\u201d Between Jim, Lester, and Donne, they determined the best way to treat Parkinson\u2019s is through a synergistic collaboration between both the medical and Parkinson\u2019s communities that empowers people with Parkinson\u2019s, utilizing 3 important pillars: exercise, curated literature providing the best medical information, &amp; socialization through support groups. Out of this grew the PASD\u2019s Good Start Program, which is currently offered quarterly in San Diego. Since its inception, it has helped more than a thousand people with Parkinson\u2019s, their families and friends.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Always seeking out that which was cutting edge, Donne learned about a new Parkinson\u2019s exercise program called Rock Steady Boxing (RSB), then being held in North County, and wanted to bring it to Central County. In 2015, she found a young man she described as \u201cgreen behind the ears\u201d teaching boxing on the lawn in Balboa Park. She immediately went to the Executive Director of PASD, then Lisa Fine, asking if PASD could pay for his required RSB training and certification in Indianapolis. \u201cMaybe next year\u2026\u201d Lisa replied. \u201cI may not have a next year!\u201d, Donne retorted. And with that, she was on a mission to start \u201cNon-RSB\u201d in Central County. Endless days and hours were spent researching, visiting, and trying out interested gyms in the North Park area. You can imagine our surprise when, at PASD\u2019s April, 2016 Annual 5-K Walk\/Run, Lisa introduced Mike Reeder as Central County\u2019s new Rock Steach Boxing coach!!! Donne, another person with Parkinson\u2019s, and I were sitting in the front row in total shock and dismay. Seeing our expressions, Mike quickly ran over and apologized, explaining he was told to \u201csay nothing\u201d. The Executive Director explained she wanted to \u201cSurprise us\u2026\u201d People with Parkinson\u2019s are one group who don\u2019t need any more surprises! Bottom line\u2026Donne is why San Diego has Mike Reeder, voted 2024\u2019s National Rock Steady Boxing \u201cCoach of the Year\u201d!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Later that month, looking to \u201cpass the baton\u201d, Donne held a meeting at PASD\u2019s office which John and I attended. Having started my career facilitating support groups, I raised my hand and said I could help, and the rest, as they say, is history.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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In 2017, Chris Buscher, PASD\u2019s new Executive Director, reached out to me to see if I would be willing to implement a Davis Phinney Foundation pilot project, called \u201cSidekicks\u201d. Donne jumped right in and offered to not only participate in but help me coordinate and run the program at a local residential community, Oakmont of Pacific Beach. The project paired people with Parkinson\u2019s up with youth in a weekly, month- long, cross-generational experience, using art as the medium for interaction. 15 people with Parkinson\u2019s joined 15 young people in a very successful, 4-week exchange.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Later that year, as Donne was preparing to move from her home to her sister, Denny\u2019s, she invited me over to share Spanish moss and tillandsias she had lovingly grown in her garden. Like everything else she touched, the moss and tillandsias have proliferated, a wonderful remembrance and gift from Donne. In November 2017, Donne elected to undergo a then new procedure, Asleep DBS (deep brain stimulation) and, accompanied 3 by devoted sisters, Denny and Delle, traveled to San Francisco, the closest location to offer the then new procedure.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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In 2018, Donne broke her hip in a fall and moved to the same residential community where we had held the Sidekicks project. I think we can all agree\u2026change can be a challenge. In a call, Donne and I were discussing her transition, and I queried, \u201cWell, Donne, what do you know? Silence ensued, to which I responded, \u201cYou know support groups!\u201d and, with that, together we started the Pacific Beach Parkinson\u2019s Support Group (PBPSG) which met live, monthly at Oakmont. Group participants were comprised of residents from the care facilities of Oakmont &amp; Wesley Palms, as well as the surrounding Pacific Beach and La Jolla communities.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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A new La Jolla residential facility, Monarch Cottage, heard about our group and asked if we could start not 1, but 3 support groups for them. In response, I, along with our Vice- President, Jim Paterniti, PASD\u2019s new Executive Director, Chris Buscher, and Scripps Movement Disorder Specialist, Dr. Nelson Wynn offered to give an introductory Parkinson\u2019s overview to the coastal communities on Monarch\u2019s behalf when\u2026COVID struck. With the arrival of the pandemic, PBPSG went virtual, which proved challenging for people with Parkinson\u2019s residing in care facilities. The virtual PBPSG was eventually renamed Living in the Solution Parkinson\u2019s Support Group (LITSPSG) because, as its new participants observed, \u201cWe\u2019re not living in the problem; we\u2019re Living in the Solution!\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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September of 2022 found Donne a patient in UCSD\u2019s Hillcrest Emergency Department. She asked for me to visit, and I learned so much in that single afternoon. There she was still teaching me, as well as medical staff nearly 20 years later! And post pandemic, Wesley Palms Parkinson\u2019s residents who had attended Donne\u2019s PBPSG followed her example, starting their own live support group.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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When PASD briefly suspended service at the end of 2016, we and other independent support groups were deciding how to proceed. In early 2017, Paul Dawson, a Parkinson\u2019s care partner and North County support group leader led their support groups into becoming a nonprofit, the North County Parkinson\u2019s Support Group (NCPSG). One of our participants visited, liked what he saw, brought back his findings to our groups and we voted to follow suit. With the support of both Paul and Chris Buscher, our groups formed the nonprofit, San Diego Central County Parkinson\u2019s Support Groups (SDCCPSG). We wanted to follow NCPSG\u2019s example and become Central County Parkinson\u2019s Support Group, however, the acronym, CCPSG, had already been taken by \u201cCleveland Christian Private School for Girls\u201d.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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As a nonprofit, SDCCPSG has had the opportunity to bring a number of support groups under its fold, including Jim Paterniti\u2019s \u201cMinds in Motion\u201d, Ron Phillips \u201cVA Parkinson\u2019s Support Group\u201d and, during the pandemic, UCSD\u2019s \u201cPeople with Parkinson\u2019s\u201d and \u201cCare Partner\u201d support groups, as well as the \u201cEast County Parkinson\u2019s Support Group\u201d. As of 2025, SDCCPSG offers 4 support groups: our live PLPSG, and our virtual LITSPSG, Speaker Series, and Vyalev\/Duopa support groups.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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In closing, we have much and many for which to be grateful, not the least of whom is Donne Willett and her myriad contributions. Here\u2019s to you, Donne! Thank you for sharing your time, knowledge, experience, and creativity with San Diego and our Parkinson\u2019s community. You have definitely made a difference in the lives of many!!!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

About Us \/ HISTORY THE HISTORY OF SDCCPSG & ITS FOUNDER DONNE WILLETT San Diego Central County Parkinson\u2019s Support Groups (SDCCPSG) would not exist, were it not for Donne Willett, founder of its original support group! On February 23rd, 2005, my husband, John, was diagnosed with Parkinson\u2019s disease (PD). My bestfriend since age 6, Susan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-full-width.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5779","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/helpzite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/helpzite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/helpzite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helpzite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/helpzite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5779"}],"version-history":[{"count":79,"href":"https:\/\/helpzite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5779\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8015,"href":"https:\/\/helpzite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5779\/revisions\/8015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/helpzite.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}