Did you know that you can become a part of the Brin Wojcicki Challenge through an anonymous gift? Here’s the story of one anonymous Challenge donor, published in the Spring 2012 issue of "Accelerating the Cure:"

My family has always believed in helping others in need. The mission of my family’s foundation is to support medical research in several specialized areas. After my older brother was diagnosed with Parkinson’s 10 years ago and experiencing what he endured, helping to find a cure for this disease became a personal cause for me.

As I began looking into how and where to make meaningful contributions to Parkinson’s research, I learned of several recognized physicians and organizations whose focus is Parkinson’s. But when I found out what The Michael J. Fox Foundation was doing, I was impressed with its approach. Researchers and scientists from all over the world apply for funding to MJFF, which maintains on-staff scientists to evaluate each request and determine which are the most promising. By this method, MJFF is not focusing only on individual scientists or research laboratories of major hospitals, but is simultaneously supporting hundreds of researchers and coordinating their findings. It is the hope that this combined research effort will lead to positive results for patients — and a cure — sooner. That is the significant difference with MJFF.

In 2010 I decided to hopefully help others with Parkinson’s by making a pledge of $100,000 to the Foundation. We all know there are many terrible diseases without a cure, and Parkinson’s is just one of them. But as government funding for medical research shrinks each year, the only way to make a real impact on these diseases is through private contributions. Everyone should feel a personal responsibility to give something, at any level, to help find cures for these diseases, as they can happen to any of us at any time. I hope that my belief in supporting medical research and my gift motivates others to participate.

When I learned about the Brin Wojcicki Challenge, I was again inspired to participate — this time in early 2012 with an additional gift of $50,000. The concept of the Challenge is simple: for every dollar that someone contributes to MJFF that dollar is matched, thereby creating two dollars. So my $50,000 contribution has become $100,000 by virtue of the Challenge. Clearly the more money that is contributed now to MJFF and doubled by the Challenge furthers the research we need in Parkinson’s disease.

Double your impact and join the Brin Wojcicki today!