UFCW Local 655 BBQ raises $11,571 for Sickle Cell research

Florissant – The effort to fund research to find a cure for Sickle Cell disease took another step forward when United Food & Commercial Workers Local 655 raised $11,571 at a fund raising BBQ on July 19 at the Schnucks Cross Keys store.

As part of the effort, the union hosted an on-site Blood Cancer registry – Delete Blood Cancer DKMS – to swab potential bone marrow donors and add their names to a worldwide donor registry. Bone marrow transplants are a potential cure for the Sickle Cell disease. DKMS is the world’s largest bone marrow donor center, with more than four million registered bone marrow donors worldwide.

“The day-long event was an incredible success,” said Local 655 Union Representative Levi Eddins, the program’s organizer.

This is the second year Local 655 has sponsored the effort.

All proceeds go to “Faces of Our Children,” a national organization dedicated to research, education, providing support for afflicted individuals and families, and funding for the fight against Sickle Cell disease worldwide.

“We are committed to this effort because it’s a disease that has no known cure for the more than 100,000 African-Americans who are impacted each year, said Local 655 President David Cook. “We thank the public, everyone who attended and our co-sponsors for their generous support.”

A total of 15 labor unions and 23 firms co-sponsored the day with Local 655.

UNION SPONSORS

Union sponsors included Meat Cutters Local 88, Insulators and Allied Workers Local 1, Tri-County Labor Legislative Club, Sheet Metal Workers Local 36, St. Louis Building & Construction Trades Council, Carpenters’ District Council, Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, Missouri AFL-CIO, Teamsters Local 688, A. Philip Randolph Institute, the Labor Tribune and UFCW Locals 455, 881,1529 and 1995.

COMPANY SPONSORS

Company co-sponsored included Schnucks, Holten Meat Co., LDI Integrated Pharmacy Services, Intercontinental Real Estate Co., Hypnotize Smoke Shop, The Segal Company, GCM Grosvenor, Vision Service Plan, Westerheide & Co., New Horizons Seventh Day Christian Church, Pulaski Bank, The Home Depot, F.A.I.R., Hammond & Shinners PC, Wolfe, Nilges, Nahorski PC, Intech Management, Sierra Investment Partners, Inc., The United Way of St. Louis, the, Commerce Trust Co., and Segall, Bryant & Hammill.