Florence Neal Cooper Smith 5K Walk

City of Richmond Mayor Danny Avula, M.D., M.P.H., kicked off the fourth annual Florence Neal Cooper Smith 5K Walk 4 Sickle Cell with community members.

4 Years of a 5K Walk 4 Sickle Cell in Richmond

By Zaynah Qutubuddin | Photos by Will Rummel

The fourth annual Florence Neal Cooper Smith 5K Walk 4 Sickle Cell was met with hope and enthusiasm by more than 300 people at Henrico County’s Dorey Park Sept. 19 during Sickle Cell Awareness Month. In a show of community support, the walk raises funds each year to fight sickle cell disease, an inherited blood disease that affects around 100,000 people in the U.S. 

The event was organized by Finding A Cure Together 4 Sickle Cell (F.A.C.T.S.) in collaboration with CBS 6 News, Zenobia's Promise Foundation and National Epicureans Incorporated with support from the MCV Foundation. All proceeds benefit the Florence Neal Cooper Smith Endowed Chair at the VCU School of Medicine, an initiative at the forefront of sickle cell disease research and care. It was recently elevated from an endowed professorship to an endowed chair thanks to community support and events like the 5K.

5K collage 

Several notable speakers shared remarks, including the Honorable Danny Avula, M.D., M.P.H., mayor of the City of Richmond, MCV Foundation board of trustees member and a donor to the endowed chair; and Delegate Delores McQuinn, who was instrumental in securing support and the final funding to elevate the professorship to an endowed chair.

The endowment and 5K are named in honor of the “Mother of Sickle Cell Disease” in Virginia, Florence Neal Cooper Smith, who attended the event with members of her family. The endowed chair is held by Wally R. Smith, M.D., a nationally recognized sickle cell expert and director of the VCU Health Sickle Cell Program. 

Florence Neal Cooper Smith
For more than half a century, Florence Neal Cooper Smith (center), a Richmond native, has worked with the community to raise awareness about sickle cell disease, to support research for better cures, and to ensure access to treatment. In 1969, she organized Richmond’s first citywide survey to determine awareness of sickle cell disease, and in 1972 she founded the Virginia Sickle Cell Anemia Awareness Program on the MCV Campus with Dr. Robert B. Scott Sr. The program became one of the original 19 federally funded screening clinics in the U.S.
Kemal Patton
The Line Dance King of RVA Kemal Patton led participants in a warmup dance before the start of the 5K walk. Patton was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1995, a chronic neurological disorder and autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spine, but he didn’t let that stop him from inspiring the community through his dancing.
5K walk volunteers
Events like the 5K are not possible without the unwavering dedication of volunteers, many of whom have experienced their own journeys of heartache, loss and survival from sickle cell disease.
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‘Mother of Sickle Cell Disease’ in Va. Continues to Inspire Advocacy

Community groups have successfully raised funds to elevate an endowed professorship honoring Florence Neal Cooper Smith into an endowed chair, recognizing her lifelong advocacy for sickle cell disease research.