WASHINGTON - The Howard University Center for Sickle Cell Disease is calling on the community to join its annual Cure Sickle Cell Now Move-On event for 2020. National Sickle Cell Awareness Month is observed each year in September.

The Center for Sickle Cell Disease has re-imagined its annual event, due to the coronavirus restrictions. This year’s event, the Cure Sickle Cell Now Move-On, will be virtual and take place throughout the month of September via Facebook Live and will feature a HU Athletics Dance Challenge. The closing ceremony will be held via Zoom on Sept. 30.

In this year’s Cure Sickle Cell Now Event, participants can do activities on their own, and then join the Center for Sickle Cell Disease for Facebook Live sessions of Zumba, bootcamp, strengthening, yoga and more. In addition, throughout the month, the Center will have DJ hours of music-hip hop, go-go oldies, Reggaeton, disco- that participants can walk, run, or dance to. Winners of the HU Athletics Dance challenge can win up to $300. A pair of KD sneakers from Kevin Durant will be a featured give-away!

“We're are so EXCITED to be with you in this way,” said James G. Taylor VI, M.D., director of the Howard University Center for Sickle Cell Disease. “The goal of the Sickle Cell event is to get participants moving. It's a way for people in the community to demonstrate solidarity and support for those with sickle cell disease and their families and to increase awareness in the community.”

The Howard University Center for Sickle Cell Disease wishes to thank our Red Level Sponsors: Vertex Pharmaceuticals  and Crispr Therapeutics.

HU Athletics Dance Challenge

Take a picture or a short video wearing Cure Sickle Cell Now T-Shirt and post it on our Facebook page to show your support for the sickle cell community. Make sure you vote on your favorite post and be a part of the closing ceremony via Zoom on Sept. 30 for announcement of prize winners.

Registration:https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cure-sickle-cell-now-move-on-event-registration-115293205080?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch

Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/CURE-Sickle-Cell-NOW-Move-On-218033284909463/

Howard University’s Center for Sickle Cell Disease, founded in 1972 by the late Roland B. Scott, M.D., has a distinguished history of leading clinical investigation in sickle cell disease.  The Center for Sickle Cell Disease was one of the first National Institutes of Health-funded sickle cell centers of excellence, beginning in 1972.

The Center for Sickle Cell Disease and Howard University Hospital are major providers of medical care to underserved patient communities in the region. Howard medical professionals currently care for more than 350 adults and children with the disease. Howard University is the single largest care provider for adults with sickle cell disease locally. Sickle cell disease is the most common genetic disease in the United States, yet it receives at least one-third less research funding than comparable diseases. In past years, the main event for Stomp Out Sickle Cell Move-On has been a SOS 5K Run/Walk held on Howard University’s campus.

About Howard University

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 13 schools and colleges. Students pursue studies in more than 120 areas leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced one Schwarzman Scholar, three Marshall Scholars, four Rhodes Scholars, 11 Truman Scholars, 25 Pickering Fellows, and more than 165 Fulbright recipients. Howard also produces more on-campus African-American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States. For more information on Howard University, visit www.howard.edu.

For media inquiries, please contact Sholnn Freeman, sholnn.freeman@howard.edu