The Sickle Cell Association of New Jersey (SCANJ) open house at JECM

The Sickle Cell Association of New Jersey (SCANJ) conducted a open house at the Jersey Explorer Children's Museum on April 11th, 2015. Led by founder and executive director, Mary Bentley LaMar, the open house provided visitors with general information regarding sickle cell anemia and resources to assist people in dealing with the disease. Overall, around 30 or more attendees showed up to watch video clips, converse with others and enjoy a healthy lunch. Mrs. LaMar introduced the audience to new peer teachers who would also be spreading the word around NJ about sickle cell. It was a very informative session, and our Youth Corps staff also had an opportunity to learn about sickle cell, which effects a larger population among minorities.

According to http://voxxi.com/2012/06/29/sickle-cell-disease-minorities-hispanics/ Approximately 1 in 1,200 Hispanics and 1 in 500 African-Americans in the United States are born with sickle cell disease (SCD), a genetic condition passed on from parents carrying sickle cell traits, says St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. It is the most common hereditary abnormality in the country, affecting up to 100,000 people, and most often seen among Latinos, African-Americans and people of Asian descent.

We were very pleased to have SCANJ as guests at the museum and we will continue to work with them to make the public more aware of sickle cell anemia and how we can work towards helping those that suffer with it.