CONTACT: Victoria M. Bohman, Executive Director
PHONE: 414-755-4198 (direct)
E-MAIL: vbohman@wda.org
WEST ALLIS, WIS., April 26, 2011 – The Wisconsin Dental Association Foundation has announced $38,100 in grants to 19 programs that bring oral health care to low-income Wisconsin residents and provide other dentistry-related services.
A $3,000 award to the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin will help update equipment in the downtown Milwaukee dental clinic. ARCW serves patients with HIV/AIDS regardless of individuals’ ability to pay.
Bread of Healing Clinic is getting $2,000 toward a new project that increases access to oral health services for uninsured individuals. The clinic serves more than 1,500 patients annually, many of whom live in north central Milwaukee neighborhoods.
Brown County Oral Health Partnership in Green Bay will use a $2,000 grant to purchase dental supplies and restorative materials needed to provide care to adults with developmental disabilities and school-based care to low-income children.
Community Dental Clinic of Jefferson County gets a $3,000 grant toward needed supplies. Located in Fort Atkinson and staffed by volunteer dentists, 60 percent of clinic patients are children from low-income families.
Door County Memorial Hospital Dental Clinic (formerly Open Door Dental Clinic) in Sturgeon Bay has been providing free oral health care to young people in Door and Kewaunee counties since 1999. The clinic will use its $1,000 grant to buy supplies and equipment.
HealthNet of Janesville has served low-income and uninsured Rock County residents since 2007. Staffed by volunteer dentists, the clinic will use a $1,500 foundation grant to purchase equipment and supplies.
Healthy Smiles for Portage County “Seal-A-Smile” has provided dental screenings, sealants and fluoride applications to area second-graders for 12 years. A $500 foundation grant will go toward purchasing equipment, sealant supplies, toothbrushes and educational brochures.
Healthy Smiles for Wood County will put $1,000 toward dental supplies and educational materials. The program focuses on preventing cavities through education and placement of sealants and fluoride varnish.
A $1,000 grant will purchase equipment for Healthy Teeth Healthy Communities of Manitowoc County. Since 2006, this program has provided basic, comprehensive dental care to county residents who are uninsured or participating in state medical assistance programs.
Rawhide Inc. in New London is a nonprofit, residential care center for troubled teen boys. A $2,500 award will go toward purchase of personal oral hygiene supplies and dental care for its young residents.
A $1,000 grant to Smiles for Sister Lucille Program of St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care in Milwaukee will help improve the dental hygiene, home care and overall health of the children, adults with disabilities and frail elderly served by the organization.
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Dental Clinic will use a $2,000 grant to buy patient education software. The largely-volunteer clinic provides free dental services to low-income children and adults from Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine and Waukesha counties.
A foundation gift of $1,000 will help Shawano County Healthy Smiles with equipment and supply expenses. The group works with volunteer dentists and dental team members to provide screenings, sealants and education to more than 300 second graders in the county’s public and private schools.
Tri-County Community Dental Clinic, which provides dental care to underserved residents of Calumet, Outagamie and Winnebago counties, is receiving $3,650 to help cover general operating costs. Volunteer dentists, hygienists and assistants are instrumental in providing the much-needed care.
Waukesha County Community Dental Clinic also will receive a gift of $3,650 toward preventive dental care and oral health education for children in need.
Several WDA programs also are benefiting from the foundation’s generosity.
The third annual WDA Mission of Mercy, which the WDA and foundation will co-host in late June in Wausau, Wis., is awarded $5,000 to help defray event-related costs. Nearly 1,000 volunteers will deliver an estimated $1 million in dental care to more than 2,000 adults and children over two days.
This WDA Foundation’s Donated Dental Services will use a $2,000 grant to help provide comprehensive dental care at no charge to Wisconsin adults who cannot work due to a permanent disability, chronic illness or advanced age, and whose needs are not met by public aid programs.
Some $1,500 in American Dental Association and WDA educational materials will be made available to first-year Marquette University School of Dentistry students at orientation.
The annual WDA Smile Contest will receive $800 to help it educate a larger, online audience about why Baby Teeth Matter and the importance of developing good personal oral hygiene habits at an early age.
The WDA Foundation has awarded $399,100 in oral health program grants and scholarships to dental and dental hygiene students since 2003 alone.
Application deadline for 2012 grants is Aug. 31, 2011. Visit WDA.org or contact foundation Executive Director Vicki Bohman at 414-755-4198 or vbohman@wda.org for more information.
Established in 1870, the Wisconsin Dental Association has more than 3,000 members representing 88 percent of all licensed dentists in Wisconsin. The WDA Foundation was created as the charitable arm of the association in 1957. A qualified, tax-exempt corporation, it provides scholarships to dental and dental hygiene students attending accredited schools in Wisconsin, gives financial support to projects providing dental care to the underserved and other dental-related philanthropic endeavors and administers the Donated Dental Services program. It is a proud member of Community Health Charities of Wisconsin. For more information, call 414-276-4520, visit our WDA.org website and find us on Facebook, Flickr and YouTube.
