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Royale’ benefit procedeeds sponsors camp

Posted on Jun 09, 2009 in News

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The UAB Minority Health & Disparities Research Center (MHRC) will be holding a fundraising and awareness event in early June to benefit their healthy happy kids program titled Casino Royale.

The MHRC was founded in September of 2002 and since then has been able to create and establish a platform in the areas of health disparity research, career development, training and community outreached in order reduce current disparities (MHRC).

The MHRC is funded primarily through grants, but also relies on community support and donations. The program also receives major support from NBA super star Charles Barkley and tries to work closely with community leaders in efforts to supply minority communities with the knowledge and resources to live healthier lifestyles.

Samika Williams, one of the programs’ development officers, says the program’s “mission is to eliminated health disparities in minority communities and it takes it from every possible perspective [by] training future doctors and scientist that are actually going to go out and treat patients.”

Working for UAB “We have an opportunity to support and promote some of the most wonderful and fantastic projects and programs [and] the MHRC being one of them. The work that they do focusing on research and community outreach has such a community relations component to it,” says Williams.

They put a lot of “emphasis on meeting community healthcare needs [and they are] teaching [kids] from an early start how to value healthy eating and how to have a healthy physical lifestyle,” says Williams.

“Even though Birmingham is the largest city in the state, we have some of the highest incidences of bad medical conditions that a person could have,” says Williams.

There’s a great need to have the benefits being offered by the MHRC in order to better improve the health of the minority communities. “Healthy children today. Healthy adults tomorrow” (MHRC).

“There doing good work in terms of empowering people to take charge of their health, but also to give back and to take care of each other,” says Williams.

“Every kid [in the program] is given a little activity packet that includes a jump rope, volley ball and an actual cookbook designed for kids that teach them recipes for healthy cooking that don’t include knifes or heat,” says Williams.
The Casino Royale event will be held in efforts to inform the community about the health disparities that exist and raise the needed funds in order to offer the program in schools this fall.

“It’s an actual casino night so people will get play money and be able to do blackjack, poker, slot machines, roulette and craps. [It’s going to be] big and grandiose,” says development officer Katrina Marshall.

The event will also include some local celebrities such as CBS 42 Sherri Jackson, Mary Kay from 95.7 JAMZ, the Berry Boys and the Just a Few Cats band. “There will be great food and music,” says Williams.

“It’s an opportunity for young professionals to help support the healthy happy kids program [and] it provides lots of different sponsorship opportunities” for those wishing to donate and attend, says Marshall.

Attendees to the event “are all playing for a chance to win fabulous door prizes. Which include football tickets, spa trips, designer handbags, photography sessions, hotel stays and city stages packages,” says Williams.

“It’s a great relaxed fun evening out [and] you have the opportunity to win great fun fabulous prizes, but also know that you’re doing it for a worthwhile cause,” says Williams.

Email: sgwhite@uab.edu