Holidays converge on Sickle Cell Day
Vermont Square Church hosts celebration
In commemoration of World Sickle Cell Day, the African American Blood Drive and Bone Marrow Registry for Sickle Cell Disease Awareness (African Americans for Sickle Cell Disease Awareness, or AA4SCDA) is holding an event at the Vermont Square United Methodist Church on Sunday.
The celebration will include Father’s Day speakers on the subject of “A Father’s Love: Journey From Sickle Cell to Marrow Transplant for My Child” and shared perspectives on family members diagnosed with sickle cell.
There will also be a moment of silence for hope and in remembrance of loved ones who have passed away from the disease, followed by a free Father’s Day luncheon (100 lunches) donated by the church.
The event will also feature a “Winter Holiday in June” toy giveaway, donated by the KIS Foundation for Children and Young Adults Diagnosed with Sickle Cell. Most of the youth in the foundation were sick or in the hospital and unable to participate in the holiday event in December, so this latest effort is an attempt to make up for their absence. The giveaway will also feature other activities such as arts and crafts, cooking demonstrations, special guests, music, prizes, and vendors. One hope of the event is the uniting the sickle cell community.
Since the church is providing the food and most drinks, the AA4SCDA only has to provide paper and plastic goods, and decorations for the Winter Wonderland toy giveaway.
The wish list includes: (200) large and small sturdy plates, (200) bottles of drinking water, (200) plastic forks, knives and spoons, table covers and skirts (red and white Juneteenth colors), (200) plastic or paper 6-oz. cups, bathroom tissue and paper towels for the restrooms, volunteers trained and untrained and monetary donations in any amount.
Those desiring to participate or contribute are asked to contact Nita Thompson, chair of African American Blood Drive and Bone Marrow Registry for Sickle Cell Disease Awareness at (323) 750-1087.
For those interested in attending, the church is located at 4410 S. Budlong Ave. in Los Angeles.
“We will keep our website http://aablooddriveandmarrowregistry4sicklecellawareness.webs.com updated as items are received,” said Thompson.
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.—A free family day at the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) this Sunday from 12 pm to 6 pm, offers visitors an opportunity to celebrate Juneteenth and Father’s Day in an enriching setting, thanks to the generosity of Lennar Urban.
“Lennar Urban is excited to support a fun and community-building event like Free Family Day. We’re proud to partner with such a national leader like the Museum of the African Diaspora in honor of Juneteenth and Father’s Day,” said Kofi Bonner, regional vice president of Lennar Urban.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Rev. Amos Brown, pastor of the Third Baptist Church of San Francisco, and Rev. Anthony Evans, president of the National Black Church Initiative in Washington, D.C., are brothers of the cloth. Though they share a love for Christ and the Bible, they do not share the same views on same-sex marriage, an issue now before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Despite public perception, sickle cell disease still exists and continues to devastate the lives of many individuals and their families. Education and public information are the most effective tools for increasing awareness of sickle cell disease. With television news and radio waves flooded with information on more popular health issues, sickle cell disease has been seemingly placed on the back burner. The fact is, this disease was identified in 1910 and yet many people still do not know enough about its origins and incidence rate.
I was among the 33.5 million people who sat riveted to their televisions, parsing every second of the State of the Union address. I was stunned to learn, through a Washington Post article by Lisa De Moraes, that viewership was less substantial for this address than last year’s 38 million, and even lower than the 48 million that watched in 2010. Are people less interested in what our president has to say? Or is there something else going on?
In any case, from my perspective this was an important and significant State of the Union address.
In this slow meander to California’s winter, with the bustle and boom of the last election season behind us, the business of governing California now takes a bolder stance. Within that context, African Americans in the California State Legislature have again achieved their highest number—nine—for the second time. This increases by one last year’s number, with two state senators (out of 40) and seven Assembly members (out of 80). They are all a part of the heavily Democratic Party-dominated status of the current state Legislature.
