Award-Winning Impact: MJFF Is Honored as Philanthropic Organization of the Year

This week, The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) was honored to be recognized as 'Philanthropic Organization of the Year' at The Hollywood Reporter's third annual Social Impact Summit in Los Angeles. The Social Impact Summit is an annual event hosted by The Hollywood Reporter and the Social Impact Fund that brings together leaders from various industries to highlight organizations and individuals creating meaningful social change. This year's honorees also included musician and advocate John Mayer, recognized as Philanthropist of the Year for his work with the Heart and Armor Foundation, and sports icon Stephen Curry, entrepreneur and New York Times best-selling author Ayesha Curry, honored for the impact of their Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation.

The award, presented to Michael J. Fox and Foundation CEO and Co-founder Debi Brooks, comes at a time of significant momentum in Parkinson's disease (PD) science. As the world's largest nonprofit funder of Parkinson's research, the Foundation has funded more than $3 billion in global research, fundamentally altering the trajectory of progress toward a cure.

At the Social Impact Summit, legendary actor Harrison Ford, a longtime friend of Michael J. Fox and supporter of the Parkinson's community, presented the Foundation with the award and reflected on MJFF's transformative impact, including advancing our understanding of the disease and helping pave the way for 20 new FDA-approved treatments over the past decade.

In his remarks, Ford offered perspective on his recent role portraying Dr. Paul Rhoades, a therapist who lives with Parkinson's disease on the Apple TV original series, Shrinking.

"35 years ago, Michael J. Fox got some very bad news. Most people handed something like that endure it; Michael went right to work. Playing Paul Rhoades on Shrinking gave me some understanding of what it means to live with Parkinson's and it also gave me Michael, as an actor, as a friend and the most stubborn optimist I know. Through him, I've seen what his foundation does."

In season 3, our intrepid founder Michael J. Fox marked his return to acting with a guest appearance on the show, bringing his lived experience with Parkinson's disease to a storyline centered on the realities of living with the disease.

Following the presentation of the award, Emmy Award-winning writer, producer and showrunner Bill Lawrence - the creative force behind Shrinking, Scrubs and Ted Lasso - moderated a fireside chat with Michael and Debi to discuss the Foundation's work.

"What I was struck by was how it paralyzed my family when we heard that stuff, and how quickly Mike made the transition from saying, 'I'm retiring' to suddenly working harder than anybody I've ever met in my life," said Lawrence.

On the progress made since the Foundation's founding alongside millions in the community, Debi shares, "There's no guarantee that the next breakthrough will be enough, but they're adding up. Scientific insights that come directly from patient experience and patient data, they are the real accelerators - and it looks more promising now than it ever has."

Reflecting on what scientific progress ultimately means for the millions of people and families living with Parkinson's, Michael shares:

"We have to find a way to get through every day, and if we can find a way to get through every day and at the same time be fueling for our actions and our deeds and our philanthropy, then that's a great thing. It's individually elevating lives. So it's not just the money, it's not just the science - it's the humanity."

Read more from this year's Social Impact Summit and reflections from Michael and Debi on the progress toward a cure in The Hollywood Reporter'scover story. And watch the full conversation with Michael and Debi, moderated by Bill Lawrence

• Lucy Peterson

  Corporate Communications Specialist