Skip to contents
In This Issue:
Participants gear up for the charity basketball tournament.
Celtics courtside reporter Willie Maye and former Celtics point guard and local legend Dana Barros were among the many who turned out for a charity basketball tournament this month to raise awareness about Sickle Cell Disease and raise money toward finding a cure.
“The turnout was amazing,” said Jacqueline Rodriguez-Louis, MPH, MEd, of BWH Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, who also volunteers as executive director of the Greater Boston Sickle Cell Disease Association, Inc. (GBSCDA), which the tournament benefits.
GBSCDA, a nonprofit that advocates for and provides support services for patients and families affected by Sickle Cell Disease, works closely with BWH physicians and patients.
Prior to the basketball game, the fourth annual Walk for a Cure kicked off at BWH to benefit the association.
City Councilor Charles Yancey served as walk marshal, and other participants included the Rev. Ronald Stephenson, president and founder of the association, who began a Sickle Cell support group at BWH after a bedside visit with a patient suffering from the disease. Also participating in the basketball tournament were Robert Vines, premium sales account executive of the Boston Celtics, Tony Price, coach at Simmons College, Jimmy Meyers, radio and television sports personality, Francis O’Bryant, of Celtics game operations, and members of the Boston Police.
“We were thrilled with the turnout and overwhelmed with gratitude for those who lent their time to this worthy cause,” Rodriguez-Louis said. “We look forward to more events like this that help us provide patients living with Sickle Cell Disease the social support they need.”