We had a great time this year at our annual World Sickle Cell Day celebration. Following the success of last year’s World Sickle Cell Day event held at our headquarters, we hosted yet another event at Hickman Park in Bilston, Wolverhampton. The turnout for 2015 was triple that of 2014! This means more people now know about sickle cell, about us, and about what we do.

Since 2008, World Sickle Cell Awareness Day has been held annually, in order to help increase public knowledge and raise awareness of sickle cell disease (SCD) and thalassaemia and the struggles sufferers and their families go through. The date was chosen to commemorate the day on which a resolution was officially adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations, recognising SCD as a public health concern.

Sickle cell and thalassaemia affects millions of people around the world, including both adults and children. It is a potentially fatal disease and, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), is one of the main causes of premature death amongst children under the age of five in various African and Asian countries.

Enid, Jordan & Jo
Enid, Jordan & Jo
Our Fun Day in Hickman Park got off to a good start at 12 noon to the well-known reggae sound, from well-known reggae group The Eye To Eye Band performing live on stage. As the adults gathered to listen to the live music, the kids also showed their excitement and in no time were queuing up for the bouncy castles to join the summer vibes. Before you knew it, Hickman Park was packed with people standing to watch the awesome live performances, buying freshly prepared smoothies, eating beautifully made rice and peas with jerk chicken, chatting with charities and vendors, and soaking in every bit of sunshine the day permitted.

Supporting Wolverhampton Sickle Cell Care. Special guest Peter Spence arrived, and Owen Grey. The people came out in full force! – Hempress Noire
And that’s not all.

Owen’s of Bilston
Owen’s of Bilston
Owen’s Of Bilston hosted the very popular ‘Guess the Number of Balloons’ raffle, using one of their own showroom cars. Many prizes such as a bottle of champagne, and a free MOT and servicing were up for grabs. Veteran Jamaican reggae artist Owen Gray excited the crowd with old lover’s rock songs that everybody knows and loves. Peter Spence also got the crowd going with a selection of gospel reggae.

Overall everyone had such fun day filled with music, laughter and good food! See more pictures from the event HERE. Keep the feedback coming so we can improve for future events. We want say a big thank you to our local community who came along to celebrate the day. We also want to give a huge thanks to our many supporters and sponsors who assisted in the day’s success, including:

Speedy Hire PLC – Wolverhampton
Owen’s of Bilston
Boots – Bentley Bridge
Tesco Stores – Willenhall Rd and Mander Centre
Aldi Stores – Goldthorn Hill and Moxley
Morrison’s – Bilston
Jam Radio, WCR Radio, Skyline Radio, Free Radio Birmingham
TK Maxx – Bentley Bridge
Curry’s – Wednesbury
Grewal Groceries – Bilston
And a special thank you to these very dedicated individuals:

Dawn Hudson
Enid Withington
Neville Pottinger
And the New World Bikers who generously supported us by collecting funds on the day and provided us all with an animated performance filled with gusto!
New World Bikers
New World Bikers
Want to get involved next year’s World Sickle Cell Day Extravaganza? Spaces (pitches) are available to retailers, community organisations and local businesses and entrepreneurs to highlight their services or goods from October 2015. We encourage anyone who wants to participate to contact us for a space and or table for exhibition to the many people who will be attending.