In mid-June, the Black Women’s Health Imperative (BWHI) and Community Blood Center of the Carolinas (CBCC) hosted the All of Us Journeyat Simmons YMCA in Charlotte. The All of Us Journey is a part of the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Research Program. The All of Us Journey is on a 37-week national tour, traveling the country to educate and enroll diverse communities in this new medical research program through an interactive mobile unit.
All of Us is part of the Precision Medicine Initiative, instated by President Obama in 2015. The goal of this research program is to speed up health research and medical breakthroughs by recruiting 1 million people to provide information that can help create better, more personalized prevention, treatment and medical care.
The All of Us Research Program aims to ensure communities that have historically been underrepresented in medical research are involved in every step of the program. To reach a diverse group of participants, NIH has partnered with organizations around the country, including the Black Women’s Health Imperative. This organization supportsAll of Us as a powerful force in leading efforts to address the most pressing health issues that affect black women and girls.
Community Blood Center of the Carolinas is an independent, nonprofit blood center and the primary blood supplier to more than 30 hospitals in the Piedmont region of North and South Carolina. CBCC is also a member of National Blood Collaborative, a network of leading blood centers in the United States. NBC has partnered with the All of UsResearch Program to create collection sites at blood centers throughout the country. CBCC is the second NBC blood center to become a collection site for the All of UsResearch Program.
Old School 105.3’s Chirl Girl emceed Wednesday’s event and got people moving and dancing as the DJ performed. An advocate for BWHI and CBCC, she also shared her personal connection to both organizations and why theAll of UsResearch Program is so important to minority populations. More than 50 people came out to learn more about the program and the groups in attendance. A photo booth provided by Charlotte Photo Booth Fun kept the group laughing, and many attendees created profiles to start their journey in the All of UsResearch Program.
To learn more about the All of UsResearch Program and start your own journey, visit www.joinallofus.org
