MCV announces concert to benefit sickle cell research
The VCU Health System and 99.3/105.7 KISS FM will host the second-annual “A Party for the People 2” at the Hat Factory this Saturday
Mechelle Hankerson
News Editor
The VCU Health System and 99.3/105.7 KISS FM will host the second-annual “A Party for the People 2” at the Hat Factory this Saturday.
The event will feature Chuck Brown and Richmond-based funk group “Plunky and Oneness.”
The event is organized by the VCU Center on Health Disparities and their Florence Neal Cooper-Smith Initiative for Sickle Cell Research. The initiative seeks to raise money for sickle cell anemia research.
According to VCU public relations specialist Eric Peters, the event is held in February to bring awareness to Black History Month.
Peters said the two awareness events were combined, since sickle cell anemia is generally concentrated among the African-American population, but the initiative’s website says those of Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Greek descent are also affected.
The event was last held in 2010.
The Florence Neal Cooper-Smith Initiative for Sickle Cell Research began in 1972 under the direction of MCV graduate Florence Neal Cooper-Smith.
Cooper-Smith developed a program for sickle cell screening, counseling, research and public education, and according to Wally Smith, medical director of the VCU Center on Health Disparities, her efforts helped create the programs VCU now offers to help sickle cell patients.
The VCU Center on Health Disparities was created in 2005 and studies the differences in health due to disadvantages. The center focuses on three aspects to achieve their goals: training and research training, research and community engagement.
Tickets are available through the Hat Factory’s box office and their website, www.hatfactoryva.com, for $25 in advance, $20 for a limited number of VCU Health System Employees and Kiss Cash Card Holders, and $30 at the door.
