Reynolds raising money for Fox Foundation

NEW YORK, April 18 (UPI) -- Canadian-born actor Ryan Reynolds is helping the Michael J. Fox Foundation raise money for Parkinson's disease research through an online campaign.

The foundation said Reynolds, who sits on the organization's board of directors, has pledged to donate $10,000 if 100,000 people "like" its Facebook page this month.

This is not the first time Reynolds, who plays the superhero in the upcoming movie "Green Lantern," has found a creative way to raise money and awareness for the foundation.

As a member of Team Fox, the foundation's grassroots fundraising network, Reynolds ran the ING NYC Marathon, his first, in 2008.

He wrote about the experience on his Huffington Post blog, engaging his fan base and ultimately raising more than $100,000 for Parkinson's research, the foundation noted.

"Why on Earth would I willfully do this? On behalf of my father … who's spent the last 15 years in a life or death struggle with Parkinson's disease," Reynolds blogged about the marathon. "A year and a half ago, I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Michael J. Fox. Like so many before me, I found it impossible not to be touched by his story of overwhelming strength, passion and relentless commitment to help those afflicted with this insidious disease. The man is inspiration exemplified … . In a moment of extremely poor judgment, I offered to do something big for him -- I offered to compete in the New York City Marathon."

Fox, a Canadian native and former star of TV's "Family Ties" and "Spin City," has been semi-retired since going public about having Parkinson's more than a decade ago.

"We couldn't be more grateful to Ryan for his creativity and generosity in helping us spread the word about our work to speed a cure for PD. Ryan's in -- are you?" Fox said in a statement.