Fight Club
Fight Club donors pledge gifts for a minimum of five years.
As a Fight Club donor, you pledge a gifts of $1,000 to $10,000 for a minimum of five years to build a strong foundation and a stable future for Rock Steady Boxing. Providing unrestricted operating support, you champion the fight against Parkinson’s.
Your generous support makes a huge difference to people fighting back against Parkinson’s throughout the country and gives us the confidence to grow and to plan for the future.
Thank you for joining Fight Club. You are a champion in the fight against Parkinson’s disease and we’re grateful to have you “in our corner.”
Fight Club Donor Levels
Speedbag: $1,000/year for 5 years
Brawler: $5,000/year for 5 years
Heavy Bag: $10,000/year for 5 years
Interested in joining Fight Club? Contact us to request a pledge card.
Why I Joined Fight Club
by Lisa Boncosky (top right with her father, David)
My father is an Eagle Scout, Toastmaster, retired engineer, amateur astronomer, opera buff, Master Oyster Gardener, bee keeper, philosopher, practical joker, and good Samaritan. He taught me how to ride a bike, play chess, shoot a gun, balance my checkbook, appreciate classical music, drive, change a flat tire, sail, dig a trench without severing the power lines to your house, identify the ten brightest stars in the sky, and the meaning of the term “work ethic.” He dug out my splinters, was a competent ponytail maker, a masterful carpool driver, took off from work to drive me back to college at the beginning of each semester, and ran the Chicago Marathon with me. He was smart enough to know that his high school sweetheart was the best thing that ever happened to him and, in no small part due to my mother, provided me a beautiful example of a loving marriage.
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We went for a run together the morning before my wedding in March 2004. I hadn’t seen him for several months and noticed that he ran with his left arm stiffly against his body with his fingers pressed together. I asked him about it and he dismissed my concern, not sharing until after my honeymoon that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. It didn’t take much research to understand that PD would gradually rob my father of his independence. We are lucky–his progression has been relatively slow and well managed.
It wasn’t until a few years ago he asked us to do a Parkinson’s Walk in Washington, D.C. with him. The sense of community I felt surrounded by those walkers, men and women in all stages of the disease surrounded by their friends and family, was inspiring. I saw how meaningful it was to my father to participate in that walk and wanted to make sure everyone afflicted with the disease had access to something similar. I returned to Indianapolis determined to get more involved in the Parkinson’s community.
That was how I found Rock Steady Boxing. Joyce Johnson had recently come on as the Executive Director, and her energy and enthusiasm on the telephone was contagious. I came in to observe a class. The trainers (Kristy and Christine) are clearly passionate about the mission of helping people with Parkinson’s fight their disease. They light up the room with their tough love and humor. I couldn’t wait for my parents’ next visit so my dad could participate.
When he did, I was incredibly moved watching this room full of people in various stages of PD, welcoming my father into their group, all fighting back together. Dad has been back to the Rock Steady gym every visit and is flying in at the end of February just to attend the Rock Steady Training Camp with me.
Rock Steady Boxing is an amazing program that only exists in Indianapolis. Research for a cure is important, but there are few opportunities to promote better quality of life for Parkinson’s patients now. I am excited to be involved with this fabulous, progressive organization and to support their growth for my father and for anyone else who has received this life-changing diagnosis.