A concert at Hope College has been scheduled to raise funds for Parkinson's research.

A concert at Hope College has been scheduled to raise funds for Parkinson's research.

Andrew Ripp with special guest Travis Kingma will perform on Thursday, Sept. 11, at 7 p.m. at the Knickerbocker Theatre, located in downtown Holland at 86 E. Eighth St.  Tickets are $7 at the door.

The concert is being sponsored by three Hope student organizations:  the college's Nu Beta chapter of the national Alpha Phi Omega service organization, the Hope Democrats and the Hope Republicans.  Proceeds will benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.

Parkinson's disease is a chronic, degenerative neurological disorder that according to the foundation affects approximately one million people in the United States and six million worldwide.  There is no known cure for Parkinson's disease.  Current treatments mask symptoms but do not alter or slow disease progression.

The foundation notes that in the United States, 60,000 new cases will be diagnosed this year alone.  The annual economic cost of Parkinson's in the U.S. is estimated to exceed $25 billion.