Sickle Cell events raise money

Chris McCarty

Sickle Cell Anemia Awareness Week raised more than $1,000 to be donated toward Sickle Cell research.

Detroit senior Taron Turner, Omega Psi Phi president, said the group is still counting and doesn’t have an exact total, but said he was very happy with the week.

“The whole week was pretty nice. There were a lot of nice thoughts and ideas collaborated between me and Deandra (Smith) that came out in a very successful week,” he said.

Detroit junior Deandra Smith said there was a nice turnout for all of the events.

“It was a great week. We had a lot of support from the regular students outside, helping us wash cars. There was a lot of support from the Greeks and university students. I was really proud of the effort of CMU students,” she said.

Omega Psi Phi service fraternity helped sponsor the events, and when a family emergency took Smith away Friday, the fraternity filled in and ran the car wash fund-raiser and karaoke night.

“It’s an annual event, one of our nationally mandated programs. We do this every year, along with Habitat for Humanity and various other events,” Turner said.

Smith said CMU has welcomed the program every year.

“Last year, we had the same success. It’s been running pretty smoothly. My freshman year was the first year I decided to do something to let everyone know about the disease. That year we did only one event,” she said. “My sophomore year we did a week of events, and this year we did a week as well.

“It ran real smooth, I’m very happy with everything.”

About 2.5 million Americans have Sickle Cell Anemia, and some may not know about the disease.

“People with Sickle Cell Anemia often suffer from episodes of pain, chronic anemia and infection,” Smith said. “I want to raise awareness about it because I have it.”

The disease causes the red blood cells in the body to be abnormally shaped. Because of the abnormal cell shape, they can clog up veins and arteries, possibly causing organ failure.

Sickle Cell Awareness Week took place from Tuesday to Saturday, with various events on Sickle Cell Anemia. Donations were collected at each event.

The Organization for Black Unity, Zeta Phi Beta service sorority, Phi Beta Sigma service fraternity and Delta Sigma Theta service sorority all helped during the week of events.