This thread is dedicated to peoples reasons for why exactly they fold. Maybe its for the good of your heart? Maybe its for a loved one? Everyone is curious, everyone has a story.
 
 
I will start
 
I fold because its a great dedication and provides good data for future loved ones close to me who may come up with one of the diseases that folding helps against.
 
Share your memories!

1. it gives me an excuse to buy expensive hardware.
2. helps cure diseases. this directly affects me because many years into the future i most likely will have alzheimers. not to say its just for me though.
3. its fun and interesting.
4. we still need to learn more about protein folding.

these are in no particular order. 

I fold for the EVGA Bucks !!!



No seriously, I'm not even sure if the $100 EVGA bucks cover my electricity use over the year, I fold because I feel like it's the right thing to do, and it's a good test for my system, The EVGA bucks are a bonus. and they help me get better cards, so I can get even more points. People test their system with prime 95 and Linix, but if you want to know that your stable, fold 24/7, while your doing your normal stuff, If your not getting errors, shutting down, or loosing points, your stable. I sincerely hope that no one in my family or yours ever needs to depend on the information we are compiling, but you never know.

For the Team.

I fold as a donation to humanity, the years I have been on this earth I have given as well as received.
 
Helping mankind is what sets humans apart from animals......which is why I donated to the Haiti Earthquake Fund.

I started folding because I had built what was at the time a really noce and powerful computer that did nothing more than email and internet. I figured that if I was gong to have that much power in a computer it might just as well do something useful. I researched the different distributed computing options and while I was doing that a guy here started a Folding@home team. I figured the big guy above was telling me something. So I joined the team. Then I got hooked. I played it like it was the best computer game. Now that the addiction has passed I continue to fold in hopes of a breakthrough.

1. My wifes sister has cancer that keeps coming back
2. I fold at work because my boss doesnt have to pay for electricity, its in his 10 year lease agreement
3. I will fold because it makes me feel good/better 

My dad died of Non Hodgkins Lymphoma cancer at age 43 when I was only 7 years old (it was hard for me at the time being so young ), and also I lost a one of my aun'ts as well as both my Dads parents (my grandparents from his side) to cancer as well. It was really bad on my dads side of the family. So I run folding@home in honor of them.

I like knowing that I'm not the only one using my computer equipment and that it's going to good use. I also fold in hopes of more being learned about cancer, as I lost a friend in 3rd grade to leukemia.

And I like getting points, it's fun to look at the graphs....

FTW in all possible ways and means...

I fold mainly because my wife has cancer and she is only 49. I also am a medical professional and it is a good cause that can have a huge impact on all areas of health care.

On a related note, I probablly will be going to Haiti as a volunteer through the Veterns Administration(who I work for) in the near future to provide relief aid.

So why not fold? Idle hardware is almost like wasted hardware. 

This is the sole reason that I started and one of the biggest reasons I continue right now.  I continued when I found out about the EVGA bucks and that was the main reason I was folding for quite a long time.  Now I'm past a million and I keep folding because it calms my conscious, it makes me feel like I'm doing my part and I'm not a bad person.  

Also, my great grandma who has Alzheimer's is dying, not because of the Alzheimer's but I  don't want to get it when I'm older.  I know a few people who have had cancer and there are a few other people that I don't really know but they are in my family and have/had cancer.  I don't think folding will help them because it will be far to late for them but folding might help people in the future and it very well could help me some day.  


EDIT: change dying to dead, just found out today.  

I fold in honor of my wife.
We had to say goodbye more than 7 years ago, after a battle of 4 years against breast cancer (which
spread to her liver after 2 years).
She was a very strong woman, but it was very hard for her to leave our (then 5 year old) daughter.

I started folding on July 20, the date she passed away .. I still miss her very much.

I fold because the faster we find a cure for things the better this world will be.