Featured Image: Laura Collins, Community and Economic Development Director with the City of Bethlehem presents Eric Aquino with honor from Mayor William J Reynolds
(BETHLEHEM, PA, April 24, 2025) – Lehigh Valley EMT Eric Aquino, founder of the nonprofit organization Gray Strong Foundation, known for helping individuals #MoveForwardWithParkinsons by providing medical resources, program support, and advocacy for Parkinson’s patients and their families, received an official commendation from the City of Bethlehem this month during Reclaiming YOU: Mental Wellness on Your Parkinson’s Journey, a two‑day symposium presented by PMD Alliance at Northampton Community College. The honor, presented on behalf of Mayor William J. Reynolds by the City of Bethlehem’s Community and Economic Development Director, Laura Collins, celebrates the broad reach of the Gray Strong Foundation, and Aquino’s innovative approach to improving quality of life for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD).
“I became an EMT to serve my neighbors, and Parkinson’s hasn’t changed that calling—it’s only widened the circle,” said Eric Aquino. “From the City’s proclamation to HollyRod’s national spotlight, each recognition fuels our mission to help people move forward with Parkinson’s, not merely live with it.”
Parkinson’s Awareness Month Highlights and Upcoming Advocacy:
- “Coloring Outside the Symptoms” — Volume 1 of Aquino’s therapeutic coloring‑book series is available now on Amazon and GrayStrong.org.
- Volume 2: “Coloring Outside the Barriers” — featuring direct quotes from people with Parkinson’s—opens for pre‑order today.
- Volume 3: “Coloring with Intent” — created with speech‑language pathologists to integrate voice exercises; releasing summer 2025.
- Project DOPA — a narrative‑plus‑resource guide (foreword requested from Michael J. Fox) launches this fall at The Quadrant in Easton.
- Hispanic PD Pamphlet — bilingual illustrated guide Together on the Journey to Live Well with Parkinson’s (Davis Phinney Foundation/APDA/PMD Alliance) is available free online.
Recent Honors:
- HollyRod Foundation “Design Care 2024” Award (Los Angeles) — honored alongside actress Viola Davis.
- Featured In-Studio on WFMZ’s Saturday Sunrise and Tony Ortiz’s Nuestro Valle (PBS 39)
- Michael J Fox Foundation Ambassador
- Consultant and Parkinson’s resource for PMD Alliance, Davis Phinney Foundation, American Parkinson disease association (APDA)
Aquino’s impact can be felt throughout the Lehigh Valley and well beyond. Through Gray Strong he guides families to medical specialists, arranges exercise and speech‑therapy programs, and produces the widely followed @TremblingEMT podcast, where clinicians and people living with PD share unfiltered conversations about the physical and emotional realities of the disorder.
The coming year promises to widen his sphere of influence even further. Aquino is the designated Social‑Media Ambassador for the 6th World Parkinson Congress, which convenes next May in Phoenix, Arizona. In that role he is helping train the city’s EMS personnel to care for thousands of international attendees who live with PD, ensuring emergency response teams understand medication timing, mobility aids, and the unique communication challenges facing the community. Closer to home, he is preparing to release Project DOPA, a narrative‑plus‑resource guide that explores dopamine’s central role in treatment and daily function—a book he hopes will carry a foreword from Michael J. Fox, whom he serves alongside as a Foundation Ambassador.
For more information about the Gray Strong Foundation, please visit graystrong.org
About Gray Strong Foundation
Gray Strong Foundation helps individuals #moveforwardwithparkinsons by providing medical and program resource support for Parkinson’s patients and their families. Founded by local EMT, Eric Aquino, Gray Strong Foundation offers much needed support and Parkinson’s disease (PD) awareness to the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas via fundraising initiatives, @tremblingEMT social media tips and podcasts, medical resource information and exercise programs. Aquino is no stranger to generating successful non-profit organizations as a former chapter President of a local Pink Heals chapter (easily recognized by their pink fire trucks) and current Michael J. Fox Foundation Ambassador. Visit graystrong.org for more info.
About Parkinson’s Disease
Affecting an estimated one million Americans and 10 million worldwide, Parkinson’s disease is the second-most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s and is the 14th-leading cause of death in the United States. It is associated with a progressive loss of motor control (e.g., shaking or tremor at rest and lack of facial expression), as well as non-motor symptoms (e.g., depression and anxiety). There is no cure for Parkinson’s and 60,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in the United States alone. Visit parkinson.org for more info.
Information provided to TVL by:
Tiffany Sondergaard
