Tournament Benefits Local Non-Profit Organization
All registration funds for the tournament will be donated to the REBLOOM Center in St. Augustine, FL. The REBLOOM CENTER is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization with a mission to provide a welcoming community space where all people in our community impacted by Parkinson’s disease can have continuous access to high quality diverse exercise programs, voice training, a support group, and educational resources to preserve quality of life throughout their Parkinson’s journey. My name is Melanie Lomaglio, I am a Physical Therapist, and I am the founder and president of the REBLOOM CENTER. The red tulip is the official flower of Parkinson’s disease, and the name and logo were centered around this idea. Tulips are known to "rebloom" every year if given the right environment! Rehabilitation, targeted exercise, socialization, and education provide the right growing environment for people living with Parkinson's disease and research has shown that they may even slow down the disease progression and preserve quality of life. I have been working as a Physical Therapist for over 25 years, and I understand the shortcomings of our "reactive" health care system. In order to fight back against the loss of function and well-being a chronic condition like Parkinson's can cause, a "proactive" strategy is needed. People with Parkinson's disease deserve continuous access to one-on-one rehabilitation, exercise, voice, social support, and education from time of diagnosis and for LIFE! Furthermore, this access to wellness should be free of financial barriers and social stigma. With a team of 5 physical therapists and a speech therapist, and through our partnership with STARS REHAB, we offer education, social support and 11 group voice and exercise classes per week and we have helped hundreds of people live well with Parkinson's.
