CareCredit, Costa Mesa, Calif, has donated $100,000 to the American Dental Association Foundation (ADAF) Give Kids A Smile (GKAS) Fund for the ninth consecutive year. The $100,000 grant is designated to support Give Kids A Smile through funding of three major initiatives:
- GKAS NASCAR elementary school oral health education events for underserved children;
- ADA Mission of Mercy and Give Kids A Smile oral health education and treatment event; and
- GKAS and TeamSmile collaborative oral health treatment events bring together sports and dental professionals to improve children’s oral health.
Children from underserved communities will participate in GKAS NASCAR oral health education events to be held between July and October 2015 in Indiana, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Alabama. These education events reinforce the Ad Council’s 2min2x oral care campaign messages, educating and encouraging children to brush their teeth for 2 minutes, twice a day. As in past years, each child attending the event will receive free oral health goody bags.
The grant will also support the ADA Mission of Mercy, a 1-day free oral healthcare event to be held in conjunction with the ADA—America’s Dental Meeting in Washington, DC, on November 8, 2015. During the event, dentists and dental team members will volunteer their services in the Give Kids A Smile area to provide up to 200 underserved children with education, screenings, cleanings, sealants, fluoride treatments, and needed restorative care.
This fall, the CareCredit donation will also fund several GKAS and TeamSmile collaborative events to be held in conjunction with professional sports teams. Dentists and dental team members will volunteer their time to provide education and free oral health treatment to underserved children in collaboration with high profile sports teams.
“Teaming up with the ADA Foundation’s Give Kids A Smile program enables us to deliver a message about good oral health to thousands of parents and children this year,” said Cindy Hearn, senior vice president, branding and communications for CareCredit, member of the ADA Foundation Board, and GKAS National Advisory Committee. “As the Founding Donor of the ADA Foundation GKAS Fund, we are pleased that our grant will again be used to further support these exciting programs and can, in a unique and relevant way, improve the lives of children who have little to no access to necessary dental care.”