The Johns Hopkins Urban Health Institute has announced that Moveable Feast is the winner of the 2012 Henrietta Lacks Memorial Award, which recognizes and supports Baltimore community organizations that are collaborating with the university to improve the health and well-being of Baltimore and its residents.
The $15,000 award was presented on Oct. 6 at the annual Henrietta Lacks Memorial Lecture on the East Baltimore campus.
Moveable Feast, founded in 1989, puts nutritious food on the table for people in Maryland with HIV/AIDS, breast cancer, and other life-threatening illnesses. Executive Director Tom Bonderenko accepted the award for the organization.
Moveable Feast was nominated by the Johns Hopkins-based cycling team Fierce Chicks Rock, which participates in the annual Ride for the Feast fundraising event. This year the team raised more than $130,000 for its ride.
Moveable Feast was one of more than a dozen community-university collaborations nominated for the award. The organization was selected by a panel of leaders from community and city organizations and Johns Hopkins as a model collaboration.
The award, first given in 2011, was created to honor Henrietta Lacks, an East Baltimore resident and cervical cancer patient at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in the early 1950s. Cells taken from her tumor became the first "immortal" human cells grown in culture and led to breakthroughs in cell research related to cancer, AIDS, the effects of radiation, and more. The award honors Mrs. Lacks and her family and is intended to be an enduring reminder of her contribution to medical science and to her community.
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