Shakira Aminah Martin was born on June 1, 1986 in Brooklyn, NY to Alphonso Martin and Andrea Hall, Shakira succumbed to the sickle cell disease on August 3, 2016 at the tender age of 30.
About Us
About Shak’s Hope
Shak’s Hope is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit foundation dedicated to serve the community of people living with Sickle Cell Anemia. We pledge to dedicate our time to making those stricken with Sickle Cell live a better life, one person at a time.
OUR CHARITY
A better way to live with Sickle Cell is our mantra. Our company was formed by way of necessity for change. Too often, we find, non-profits direct funds mainly to research and not enough towards quality of life for those living with life-threatening illness. Shak’s Hope comes from the heart of someone living with and experiencing the challenges of sickle cell patients. Her vision, of creating an environment which eases the discomfort and pain felt during SC crisis episodes, was born of the realization that most crisis patients live a closeted and uncomfortable life before, during and after crisis moments. Shakira never let the disease manage her lifestyle. Her determination to live a happy and fulfilling life transcended all pain. She made it her life mission to not suffer in silence and wanted to forge a path to enable others to do the same
OUR GOALS
Let’s elaborate a bit on what is means to “know your status”. This is a term we use often, but to those on the outside, it’s generic and doesn’t mean anything. Sure, our goal is education and awareness which would combat this, but for anyone giving it the quick 10 second glance, let’s reword this to say something like, “The first step in understanding the disease is knowing if you are a carrier of the genetic trait which causes Sickle Cell Amemia. We call this, “knowing your status”. It should conclude with …starting a family, because should both parents carry the trait, the risk of having a child born with the disease is 1 in 4.”
OUR MISSION
Shak’s Hope is an organization whose mission is to raise awareness while providing services that improve the quality of life for those afflicted with Sickle Cell Anemia in South Florida and Jamaica.
SHAK’S WARRIORS
Shak’s Hope Foundation Executive Board
Kishi Martin
Co-Founder/Brother
Andrea Hall
Co-Founder/Mom
Andrea is Shakira's loving mom and currently runs the Shak's Hope foundation as well as her own small business.
Paul Brown
Director/Uncle
Sean Roberts
Graphic Designer/Uncle
Karen Grey
P.R & Marketing/Aunt
Eric Schroeder
Secretary/Friend
Rain Jarrett
Vice President
Rain is a Sociology Professor at Broward College.
Gina Alder
Parliamentarian
Gina owns her own events company, Events Unlimited.
Rodrick Walters
Treasurer
Rodrick is a CPA at William Webb & Associates, LLC.
Marlon Hill
Legal Counsel
Marlon is a partner at the law firm Hamilton, Miller and Birthisel.
Dr. Jhanel Davis
Assistant Treasurer
Jhanel works as a Professional School Counselor on the School Board of Broward County.
Khristann Domville
Secretary
Khristann works as a Project Manager at Parallon Business Solutions.
Shelissa Johnson
Board Member
Shelissa works as a Project Assistant at D-Junction Mas.
Dr. Charlie Ware
Medical Advisory
Charlie owns his own acupuncture clinic and focuses on Functional and Restorative Medicine.
Sky Jarrett
Proxy
Sky works as a Life Coach at Transcend, LLC.