The Have A Heart for Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization established in 1990 by the late Linda Collins. Linda’s vision was to establish an organization that would be an advocate for those individuals affected by sickle cell disease, as well as, provide a means for people to become as knowledgeable about sickle cell disease as they are about cancer, diabetes, and other seriously debilitating diseases. Consequently, the Foundation is committed to increasing the public’s awareness of the disease through seminars, reference material, and educational activities. Our goal is to provide continuous education about the disease, its management, and its myriad of issues. Our strategy is to educate our youth so they can become more responsible in managing the disease as they grow older.

Linda Collins, founder of the Have a Heart for Sickle Cell Anemia Foundation, was diagnosed at age five with Sickle Cell Anemia (SCA). She made a commitment early in life not to sit in silence, but participate in advancing the care of SCA patients and their families.

In addition to raising funds to directly support its sickle cell research and education programs, the Foundation was instrumental in obtaining a $1.9 million grant in 2001 from the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) to support a Comprehensive Sickle Cell Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago.