I specifically donate to NAF because in attending meetings in the past I saw members who experience much greater difficulties than myself and I feel it is my responsibility as a member of the Ataxia community to help. I also believe that I have a responsibility to help the human community. I do have a selfish reason that I contribute concerning my sons, my understanding of genetics is that both of my sons are at risk of inheriting my gene for Ataxia. In my lifetime there have been many advances in the understanding of Ataxia and I wish this to continue as it will benefit all those affected by Ataxia and future generations that could be affected. From someone who has Ataxia thank you to all those people that help us.

Receiving the diagnosis that three of our four children have a rare disease called ATAXIA, was hard but hearing there was no treatment or cure was devastating. Being involved with the National Ataxia Foundation as a parent, support group leader and board member has been my passion for the last 15 years. We can now say we are have HOPE for a treatment!

Receiving the NAF Young Investigator SCA Award made it possible to implement a concrete scientific project independently and autonomously...Our research has direct impact on improving trial-readiness for patients.

I decided to become a donor to help further the research and the efforts being made to develop a cure for Ataxia.

There are many reasons I choose to support the National Ataxia Foundation, and I can condense them into three areas. First, I support NAF because I have siblings who have inherited Ataxia, and I want to do all I can to help make their lives easier. Second, I support NAF because fifteen years of involvement with the organization has shown the progress NAF has made in funding researchers, raising public awareness, and communicating with the Ataxia community. Third, NAF is staffed by dedicated individuals who do care about finding treatments and a possble cure for Ataxia. In addition, Charity Navigator has named NAF as one of the best run non-profits for many years. Therefore, I have confidence that my donation is used wisely and is focused on finding help to those with Ataxia. Why would I not donate to a group that gives hope to the families and friends of this rare neurological disease? Continuing with my support makes perfect sense to me.

The Gordon and Marilyn Macklin Foundation has supported NAF through generous donations to the research program and other initiatives since 2009. Most recently, this support has been directed toward funding of the Clinical Research Consortium for the Study of Cerebellar Ataxia (CRC-SCA).

"Thanks to the important work of the CRC-SCA in working collaboratively to collect patient data, we are moving closer to finding treatments and an eventual cure for Ataxia."

I was awarded my very first grant funding by NAF as a junior investigator. That research led to a very impactful and much-cited article, and follow up NIH funding.