In 2026, we recognize 20 years of Team Fox — MJFF’s grassroots fundraising community — that has transformed personal passion into powerful progress for Parkinson’s research.
Powering Progress through Community Fundraising
Team Fox launched in April 2006 after people reached out to MJFF with dollars to donate toward a cure. What began as a small but mighty group of supporters determined to make a difference has grown into a global movement, proving that anyone can be a force for good.
Over two decades, Team Fox members have raised hundreds of millions of dollars to support MJFF’s mission to speed better treatments and find a cure for Parkinson’s. Every penny donated by Team Fox members goes straight to research.
As we recognize this milestone, we honor every fundraiser, host, walker, runner, rider, volunteer and donor who has represented Team Fox. Your commitment has helped propel discoveries that are reshaping what’s possible in Parkinson’s research.
Have you ever noticed that optimism, energy and generosity are contagious? There's something about watching someone you know take on a cause that makes you want to get involved too. That's the big idea behind Team Fox.
Timeline
For the past 20 years, Team Fox members have participated in various ways, such as organizing their own do-it-yourself events, taking on endurance challenges, joining our Run/Walk or Cycling Series, supporting the Parkinson’s Unity Walk, running a Portions of Proceeds campaign and holding fundraisers on Facebook.
1994
Founded by Parkinson Alliance, the first Parkinson's Unity Walk is held.
2003
The first do-it-yourself pancakes event is held at the University of Virginia.
2004
Created by Gail Oliver in honor of her mother who lived with Parkinson's, the Mrs. Mo Memorial Golf Tournament raises money for MJFF and reaches out to MJFF staff to ask where to send the money her event raised.
2005
The first team of MJFF supporters come together to run the New York City Marathon in honor of the Foundation.
2006
Founded on a simple idea to empower individuals to turn their energy into determination into fundraising for high-impact science, a grassroots community is formed: Team Fox.
2007
In the first year since Team Fox was created, 287 event fundraisers raise $719,414 for critical research.
2010
The first Young Professionals group is formed in New York City.
2013
The Fox Shop is created. For the first time, supporters can purchase apparel and accessories to represent Team Fox and MJFF.
2014
The first year a do-it-yourself event, Tips for Parkinson's, organized by Sue Bilotta, hit a lifetime high of $1 million raised.
2015
The inaugural MJFF Fox Trot for Parkinson's Research event is held in New York City.
2015
Team Fox staff member Sam Fox leads the initial Tour de Fox with an MJFF-led cycling, climbing and hiking expedition spanning the U.S. and Canada — and raises $2.5 million.
2015
The Team Fox endurance program announces its climbing series, taking supporters to different peaks to trek for research.
2016
Team Fox's official Portion of Proceeds program starts.
2016
Inspired by Sam Fox's success the prior year, Tour de Fox develops into an MJFF-hosted cycling series spanning Wine Country in California, the Pacific Northwest in Vancouver and Atlanta, Georgia.
2017
Team Fox member, Anna Wistran Wolfe, asks MJFF to take over her event, the “North Shore Walk,” now called the Boston Fox Trot. In addition, the Fox Trot grows its footprint with the launch of two new markets in the Bay Area and Los Angeles, expanding to four Fox Trot events nationwide.
2018
The New England Parkinson's Ride, created by Bob and Edna Woods, is the first do-it-yourself event to cross $1 million raised in a single year.
2018
The Fox Trot adds another market in Orlando, Florida, expanding to five Fox Trot events nationwide.
2019
The Fox Trot expands again, adding new markets in Austin, Texas, and the Twin Cities in Minnesota, bringing the program to seven Fox Trot events nationwide.
2019
MJFF hosts its first-ever organized fundraiser on Facebook.
2020
With in-person events on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic, MJFF launches its first Virtual Fox Trot and Virtual Tour de Fox, bringing the community together online. For the first time, the Fox Trot program reaches a global audience, connecting participants in all 50 states and 18 countries.
2021
The Fox Trot program rebrands as the Run/Walk Series. With no in-person events due to the pandemic, the program hosts two Virtual Run/Walks — one in the spring and one in the fall. Despite the shift, this became a record-breaking fundraising year, raising $1.74 million, the most in program history.
2022
In-person Run/Walk events return to four locations, while the Austin, Orlando and Twin Cities events are retired. Chicago is added as an official Run/Walk event after Team Fox members, Jimmy and Cherryl Choi, invite MJFF to take over their annual event, the "Shake It Off 5K." New York City becomes the highest-grossing market, raising over $423,000.
2022
MJFF hosts its first-ever Facebook Challenge, engaging our virtual community to complete a specific task over the course of a month.
2022
Patient Council member Wanda Kim-Lilley seeks to form a deeper connection with the community and registers her cycling team from France, the Chamonix Foxes, for the Virtual Tour de Fox ride.
2023
MJFF hosts its first Parkinson’s Unity Walk, taking over from Parkinson's Alliance. A historic $1 million is raised with a $1 million match from Steve and Connie Ballmer.
2023
The Run/Walk program retires its longest standing market, New York City and introduces two new markets in Denver, Colorado and Phoenix, Arizona, keeping the program at seven markets nationwide.
2023
The Chamonix Foxes evolves from a Tour de Fox team into an official organized ride hosted in Chamonix, France.
2024
Team Human Powered Potential (HPP) completes the World's Toughest Row in support of Parkinson’s research — raising a historic $43 million, supported by a 3:1 anonymous match and over 26,000 individual donations.
2024
The Parkinson’s Unity Walk hits its 30th year with participants representing 47 U.S. states.
2024
The Run/Walk Series grows further introducing one additional market in Houston, Texas. The Los Angeles event draws a record 1,350 participants, the most in Run/Walk Series history.
2024
For the first time in five years, Tour de Fox returns in-person at the beautiful Francis Ford Coppola Winery in Geyserville, California — reinvigorating our Wine Country community. The Chamonix ride continues to expand, adding a golf event, an evening gala and a research salon hosted at Wanda’s personal chalet in Chamonix.
2025
Team Fox is added as an official charity partner at the TCS Sydney Marathon.
2025
The Chamonix Tour de Fox adds a second cycling day with an intensive ride incorporating portions of the former Tour de France route and raises a record $100,000 for the Tour de Fox program.
2025
MJFF recognizes 10 years of the Run/Walk Series, and Washington, D.C. is added as a new event. The Boston Run/Walk sets a new program record, raising $445,000 and surpassing New York City’s 2022 total. Since 2015, our Run/Walk Series has hit the streets in 13 cities across the nation. In their first year, Run/Walk events raised $18,230 from 283 distinct registrants. Ten years later, these events raised $1,479,661 from 5,183 distinct registrants. Over the years, a total of 34,180 distinct registrants have walked, jogged or run for a cure.
2025
MJFF recognizes the 20th year of Team Fox participating in the TCS New York City Marathon.
2025
MJFF recognizes 10 years of its Tour de Fox cycling series. Since 2015, Tour de Fox participants have biked ovr 94,000 miles across a total of 23 tours with a total of 9,051 distinct registrants raising $10,528,615 for research.
2025
The Team Fox climbing program hits 10 years with 90 intrepid fundraisers climbing 70,706 vertical feet across five different climbs since 2015: Mt. Sherman and Mt. Sheridan in Colorado, Mt. Whitney in California, Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, 3 Volcano Challenge in Guatemela and Rim to Rim in the Grand Canyon.
2026
Team Fox is added as an official charity partner at the Tokyo Marathon, securing bibs at all seven World Marathon Majors, which also includes Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, New York City and Sydney.
Editor's Note
A shorter version of this story appears on page 22 of the Spring/Summer 2026 issue of Fox Focus on Parkinson's.