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Ways to participate in our virtual walk Donate/Join/Fundraise Since the Walk is now virtual, registration is optional. You can turn your registration fee into a donation, join/create a team or become a fundraiser. Team Set Up Once you create a team, you'll get an email for page set up. We also have step-by-step instructions here to personalize your page. Sponsor Info Your company sponsorship heightens the visibility of your commitment to social responsibility. The return on investment benefits us all. Vendor/Exhibitor This year we're offering two vendor experiences: Both provide virtual promotion, one also offers limited sponsor benefits. Legacy Warriors Are you a sickle cell warrior who's 40 or older? We invite you to join our Legacy Salute! Sign up here by 9/5 to be included. The COVID-19 pandemic will keep us from walking together, but the reasons we walk are still present every day in every individual living with sickle cell. We still need your help to meet the needs of our community. How Our Virtual Walk Works “Join where you are and move how you choose” is the theme of this year’s Sickle Cell Matters Virtual Walk. This means you can participate from anywhere – home, a favorite landmark, nearby park, or your local drop-off election ballot box . (Hint!) Everyone who registers, donates, or starts a team will receive a pedometer, but you’re not limited to walking. Change it up! Transfer the 30-40 minutes you would have used to walk with our group to a session of Zumba, yoga, golf, dancing or yes, walking. We encourage you to start on Sept. 14 to help us promote the event. Post photos or videos of your activity to your social media accounts using #SickleCellMattersWalkMI #SickleCellLivesMatter #SickleCellMichigan. Have fun with it – show off your steps, shout out your team, team members, and the warrior you’re participating for. Then on Saturday, Sept. 19, join us on Facebook @sicklecellmichigan for the online celebration beginning at 10 a.m. Right click to download, save and share this graphic! Contests & Prizes Right click to download, save and share this graphic! Everyone who supports our 2020 Sickle Cell Matters Virtual Walk by registering, donating, fundraising, or starting a team by 9/5 will receive a pedometer as a thank you and reminder that fitness – movement – is important for all of us every day. Everyone who signs up as a fundraiser or creates a team by 9/5 will also be entered into a giveaway for a $100 gift card. We’ll recognize the two teams that raise the most money by Sept. 12. Team captain of the top team receives a $100 gift card. The second place team captain will receive a $50 gift card. The team captain with the most walkers as of Sept. 12 will receive a $100 gift card. We’re expanding our annual T-Shirt Contest to include posters this year. Create a design supporting #SickleCellLivesMatter. Show your poster or wear your T-Shirt in your virtual walk photos and videos. Enter your T-Shirt and poster designs in the contest by Sept. 5 for a chance to win a $100 gift card. Winners will be announced on Sept. 19. (You must be registered for the walk, donate, or be signed up as a fundraiser or team captain to be eligible for entry.) Tribute to Fallen Warriors We offer our heartfelt condolences to all the friends, families and loved ones of individuals with sickle cell who’ve passed away over the years. This year, again, we’ll pay tribute to the lives of those we've lost here in Michigan. To include your loved one in our tribute, please send the following to info@scdaami.org no later than Sept. 5: Name of the individual who passed away, dates of birth and death, and a photo. Right click to download, save and share this graphic! Salute to Legacy Warriors Right click to download, save and share this graphic! We’re inviting all individuals with sickle cell aged 40 and older to join our 2020 salute. Consider this an extra birthday celebration! The honors are open to all warriors, no matter where you live. Sign up here and send a photo of yourself to info@scdaami.org with the subject line “Legacy Warrior.” Be sure to include your name in the email. #WarriorsWipeItDownChallenge We’re inviting all sickle cell warriors to join in a special #WipeItDown challenge for our virtual walk. Post to your social media using any of the day’s hashtags: #SickleCellMattersWalkMI #SickleCellLivesMatter #WarriorsWipeItDown Right click to download, save and share this graphic! #SickleSlide Calling the hustle crowd! Take on the Sickle Slide to raise consciousness around sickle cell in a fun and active way. Post your video and tag us @sicklecellmichigan. Be sure to post a fact or two about your life with sickle cell and use #SickleSlide and #SickleCellMattersWalkMI. You could be featured in our Walk day celebration! howwalkworks contests legacywarriors fallenwarriors wipeitdown sickleslide Check our leaderboard frequently to see how your campaign is doing and what the competition is up to. For additional information, please contact the following SCDAA-MI staff for specific assistance or call (313) 864-4406: Registration, team setup or technical issues - email Kristal Johnson Sponsorships - email Stefanie Worth Vendor Information - email Tracie Conic

If you inherit only one sickle hemoglobin gene from a parent you will carry the sickle cell trait. While the trait was once thought to be innocuous, in recent years more has been learned about carriers. People with the trait are more likely to suffer from conditions such as urinary tract infections or blood in the urine. Even athletes with sickle cell trait are now advised to take special precautions. sickle cell trait Sickle Cell Trait Facts In some people the red blood cells can take on the shape of a farmer’s sickle. If you are born with this gene from one parent you have SICKLE CELL TRAIT. If you are born with this gene from both parents you have SICKLE CELL DISEASE. A person with sickle cell DISEASE has sickle cells in the blood stream which can cause health problems Such as pain, infection and anemia. A person with sickle cell TRAIT does not have sickle cells in the blood stream and does not have a disease. They're considered to be a carrier. If both parents have sickle cell TRAIT, each time a child is born there is a 25% (1 in 4) chance the child will have sickle cell DISEASE. This doesn't mean that if you have four children, one of them will have a chance of being born with sickle cell disease. It means that each child has a 25% chance of being born with the disease. There are two other fairly common traits that can also result in having a child with sickle cell disease: h emoglobin C trait and thalassemia trait. Since you do not get sick from any of these traits, you may have one of them and not know it. People of childbearing age should know if they have any of these traits so that they can make informed decisions regarding family planning. Know your trait status! View and download the full infographic here . SCDAA-MI offers free testing for sickle cell trait and sickle cell disease at its office: 18516 James Couzens Fwy, Detroit, MI 48235. Appointments and walk-ins are welcome. Call or contact us for more information. More info on the CDC's sickle cell trait site. Learn more about the NCAA and sickle cell trait

Sickle Cell Disease Association of America - Michigan Chapter Board of Directors Chairperson Kym L. Worthy Prosecutor, Wayne County District Jeffrey Sherbow, Esq, 1st Vice Chair, Attorney, Sherbow Law Office Ms. Cheryl L. Haskett, Treasurer Finance Director & Consultant, YDB, Inc. Kathleen Neumann, Secretary Retired Regional Director, Judson Center Sharada Sarnaik, M.D. , Assistant Secretary Retired Director, Comprehensive Sickle Cell Clinic Children's Hospital of Michigan Sonja L. Banks, CEO, International Dyslexia Association, Inc . Barbara Cushing, M.D. Retired Pediatric Hematologist, CHM LeWanda Gipson Deputy Director, Matrix Human Services Deborah Smith-Pollard, Ph.D. Associate Professor, U of M Dearborn Beverly Watkins Systems Administration, Toyota our board