The Drive Around the World expedition is almost home...

Drive Around the World, the international Land Rover expedition I was involved with last year, has almost completed its trans-global journey to raise funds and awareness for Parkinson's Disease research. A welcome-home party will be held at the Parkinson's Institute in Sunnyvale, Calif., a week from today. For the full scoop, read this announcement from DATW director Nick Baggarly:

After 16 months, four continents and countless cans of Red Bull, your LONGITUDE Expedition has some exciting news to share. After reaching the northernmost point of the journey Feb. 5 at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, our Land Rovers turned south and are pointed toward the finish line at the Parkinson’s Institute in Sunnyvale, Calif.

We’re coming home!

If you’ve followed our journals and dispatches, you know where we’ve been. From California all the way to the road’s end in Tierra del Fuego. Across Australia’s Gunbarrel Highway. Through the muddiest parts of Southeast Asia, the highest roads of the Himalayas, the most treacherous parts of Pakistan and the coldest corners of Siberia.

You also know who we’ve met. The Dalai Lama, for starters (though we couldn’t tell anyone until we made it through China)! We’ve rallied celebrities like Michael J. Fox, Jay Leno and James Cameron to our cause. We made friends on the streets of Bangkok and the reed houses of Bolivia.

And we met with people around the world who live with Parkinson’s disease. Don Tito, a sheepherder from Patagonia, can no longer climb into his saddle and tend his flocks. Wang, from Singapore, gave up his career as a commercial pilot. Naomi, from Australia, thirsts for literature but cannot hold a book.

Their hands may tremble, but their hearts do not. The determination and strength of these people touched us, inspired us and reminded us that Parkinson’s disease does not recognize international borders. It is a disease desperately in need of awareness, at home and especially abroad. In Laos, a country of over 6 million that likely has thousands living with Parkinson’s, we found just one person who had been diagnosed with the disease.

Our expedition has been about bringing hope to Parkinson’s sufferers. It’s been about promoting cross-border understanding. In the most essential sense, it’s been about raising money to fund research to find a cure for PD, which the National Institute of Health believes will happen with the proper funding.

We hope you’ve enjoyed the virtual ride as well, but the expedition isn’t over yet. The truth is, this final leg is the most important of the expedition. We need your support to reach our fundraising goal and make a sincere difference in the fight against Parkinson’s disease.

Land Rover Certified Pre-Owned and 60 other companies have made contributions to defray the expedition’s costs and ensure that 100 percent of funds raised go directly to the Parkinson’s Institute. To donate, visit www.drivearoundtheworld.com/support.

But more than anything, our drive around the world has been about making a difference. I felt helpless when my big sister, Jackie, was diagnosed with PD. So did my friend and team member Todd Borgie after his father began to shake. We took to the road not to escape our problems, but to challenge them and become part of the solution.

In the process, we used our Web site to take students back home on virtual field trips, where they learned about geography and cultural diversity. They also have a rough idea what Peruvian guinea pig tastes like.

We hope you will tell your friends and neighbors about us. We hope you will continue to contribute. And we hope to see you at the finish line celebration, Feb. 28 at 11 a.m. at the Parkinson’s Institute!

You’ll meet the team, see the vehicles that traveled 41,000 miles, hear all our tales and adventures and eat some unusual foods from around the world (no guinea pig, we promise). You will witness a major event in motor vehicle history – the culmination of an unprecedented adventure, the longest drive ever undertaken to raise money for a charitable cause.

Just by joining us, you’ll become part of the greater Parkinson's community. You’ll be supporting our team and its philanthropic mission. You’ll be part of the solution.

Until then, you can track our daily progress at www.drivearoundtheworld.com. Don’t forget, a minimum donation of just $10 will earn a chance to win one of the 2003 Certified Pre-owned Discovery vehicles, identical to those that went around the world. The vehicle, which is signed by Jay Leno, Michael J. Fox and director James Cameron, will be raffled off in conjunction with the New York Auto Show in April.

Also, if you work in the media, we invite you to help us spread the word and defeat Parkinson’s disease. We are available for interviews as we make our way towards the finish line, and there’s still time for reporters to ride along as part of the “Take Me With You” program.

Until Feb. 28, we will carry all of you, in spirit, with us to the finish line. We thank you for your past support, and we hope to see you at the Parkinson’s Institute!

Sincerely,

Nick Baggarly
Director, Drive Around the World