There are some challenges you can see and others you can’t. For many children living with sickle cell disease, the toughest moments are often invisible.
September is Sickle Cell Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness of a disease that affects approximately 100,000 people in the United States and millions more around the world. At Team IMPACT, we’re proud to support children in the sickle cell community alongside Vertex Pharmaceuticals, helping ensure each match has the support, connection, and sense of belonging every child deserves.
Sickle cell disease is an inherited blood disorder that affects red blood cells. Instead of being round and flexible, red blood cells can become hard and shaped like a sickle, making it more difficult for them to travel through blood vessels. This can lead to episodes of pain, anemia, infections, organ complications, and frequent hospitalizations. And the effects of sickle cell disease often extend beyond physical symptoms.
“At Team IMPACT, we’re really proud to work with so many children living with sickle cell disease and their families,” said Rachel Rogovin, National Director of Psychosocial Services at Team IMPACT. “Sickle cell is a chronic disease that can affect a lot of different areas of a child’s life. Not only does it impact them physically, but it also can affect them socially and emotionally. It can lead to frequent school absences, chronic and ongoing pain episodes, frequent hospitalizations, and sometimes isolates them from their friends and community.”
That’s exactly where the power of belonging can make a difference. When a child joins a team, the community that supports them while they navigate their journey expands. They gain teammates who cheer them on, celebrate their victories, check in during difficult times, and welcome them just as they are.
“Through the support we get from Vertex, we are able to work with more and more children with sickle cell disease,” Rachel said, “ensuring that they have a team of support, a community of athletes behind them, that they feel they belong to something in a way that they haven’t been able to before.”
“Without support from companies like Vertex, we would not be able to offer the case management services and support and the clinically informed program that we do to our kids, families, and student-athletes,” Rachel said, “and without our ability to do that, we couldn’t ensure that these matches are as impactful and meaningful as they could be.”
For Vertex employee Angela Alibrandi, the connection between Team IMPACT and Vertex is deeply personal. When she was a student-athlete on the Tufts University women’s basketball team, Angela experienced firsthand the impact of Team IMPACT through her friendship with Ashanti, a 15-year-old living with sickle cell anemia.
That experience shaped Angela’s future.
“Being a Team IMPACT Fellow brought along so many opportunities to meet matches and their families,” Angela recalled. “Through seeing the challenges they experience every day, I was inspired and compelled to help them. I wanted to make a direct impact on those with life-threatening diseases in a hands-on environment where I could actively work towards a solution.”
Shortly after her team was matched, Angela became a member of Team IMPACT’s first-ever Fellowship class, a group of student-athletes who go above and beyond their matched team connection. At a networking event hosted by Vertex during Team IMPACT ‘s annual Fellowship Summit, Angela was introduced to the world of pharmaceutical drug development—and that moment ultimately influenced her career path. “I began to see how the pieces of my education could fit together with my drive to do more to help those battling serious and chronic diseases,” she said. “I tailored the last year and a half of my undergraduate education toward learning as much as I could about pharmaceutical drug development and went on to earn a master’s degree in chemistry/biotechnology.”
Today, Angela serves as a Principal Research Associate in Analytical Development at Vertex, bringing her Team IMPACT experience full circle. Angela witnessed the impact of community on her Team IMPACT match in college. Now, she sees that same resilience in those living with sickle cell every day.
For many families, that sense of support can be transformational. “Children and families living with sickle cell disease may not only struggle physically, but also emotionally and socially with the disease,” Angela said. “Team IMPACT provides families with a positive light in their lives, a sense of hope and something to look forward to as they struggle with the real difficulties of everyday life. “It provides a renewed sense of purpose and can give them a break from all the doctors’ visits. When a child is matched with a team, they inherit a family of big brothers or sisters. They’ll always be there looking out for you, and in the times of greatest struggle, it’s immensely comforting to know a whole team has your back.”
This Sickle Cell Awareness Month, we’re celebrating the strength of children living with sickle cell disease, the families who support them, and the communities that stand beside them every step of the way. Together with partners like Vertex Pharmaceuticals, we’re expanding opportunities for more children to experience the power of belonging.