But in one year they have been able to accomplish so much, said Adanma Okoro, executive director of the foundation.

Throughout the past year, the group has held a blood drive in Minnesota, a sickle cell awareness campaign in Jamaica and presented a $50,000 scholarship in Jamaican currency to a 16-year-old girl, said Okoro, who is Imade’s cousin.

Sickle cell anemia is a disease that affects red blood cells and how oxygen is carried through the blood system, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Helen Asemota, chairperson of board of directors for the foundation and Imade Asemota’s mother, said she was inspired by Imade’s work, referring to the Master’s degree she received at MSU.

About 70,000 Americans currently have the disease and about 1,000 babies per year are diagnosed, she said in a presentation at the fundraiser.

“(After her death) we concluded that the way to go was to establish a foundation upon her legacy,” her mother said. “We focus on the sickle cell research that she was trying to do when she was alive. She wanted to be part of the solution.”

The performers, whose songs reflected their belief that Imade is in a better place because she is with God, gave praise to the family, said Joan Myers, a performer at the memorial.

“The consciousness of how people suffer from sickle cell has become the focus of this family’s life,” Myers said. “They have taken a radical step to help people understand the importance of this disease.”

When she became sick, Imade’s closest family members said they were unable to detect how severe it was because of her normal lifestyle.

“She actually told me one night after the two of us went to the movies,” said Okoro. “I was shocked because it’s something I would never have known. She told me she was put in a three-week long coma when she was 16.”

It became too much for Imade, her family said, and she drove herself to the hospital on what would be her final night. The family was devastated when she died, Okoro said.

“It took the grace of God to get through that weekend,” Okoro said. “It has given us the strength to stand together toward a common cause.”

Imade’s family said they will continue to spread what Imade’s life exemplified.

“I am proud of her,” her mother said. “That’s why I take her as an example that others can emulate. You can live your life to your full potential even when you’re suffering. She showed you can have hope in spite of pain. In 24 years, she did what many people who are 60 could not do.”