The American Dental Association (ADA) will host two philanthropic events under the umbrella of its Give Kids a Smile® program during its Oct. 11-13 national meeting to help underserved children at both a local and national level.
At the local level, participants at the Oct. 12 Pack & Give Back event will fill backpacks for underserved children in the greater Las Vegas area who might otherwise go without food during weekends and long breaks from school. The Pack & Give Back event is a collaboration with Three Square—a member of Feeding America—and Future Smiles, two Nevada nonprofit organizations.
Approximately 1,000 backpacks will be filled, each with four meals, two nutritious snacks, an oral healthcare goodie bag with a toothbrush and toothpaste and oral health educational materials. The backpacks will then be distributed by Three Square at a later date to children in the Nevada area. This event is generously sponsored by Henry Schein, Colgate and the Dental Trade Alliance Foundation.
At the national level, participants in SmileDash can log their miles from running, walking, biking, swimming or any other distance activity that takes place from Oct. 1-15 in any location. A portion of the participant registration fee supports the ADA’s Give Kids A Smile program, which helps underserved children nationwide receive free oral health services.
“We are honored to help underserved children in the greater Las Vegas area and nationally during the ADA’s national meeting,” said ADA President Dr. Klemmedson. “These two philanthropic events are held as part of the ADA’s Give Kids A Smile program which celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2022. Through Give Kids A Smile, dentists and their teams have provided oral health services to more than 6 million children in need across the country.”
For additional information about the above events, contact gkas@ada.org.
Editor’s Note: Reporters are invited to follow the ADA on Twitter @AmerDentalAssn and #SmileCon2021 for updates from SmileCon
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About the American Dental Association
The not-for-profit ADA is the nation’s largest dental association, representing more than 162,000 dentist members. The premier source of oral health information, the ADA has advocated for the public’s health and promoted the art and science of dentistry since 1859. The ADA’s state-of-the-art research facilities develop and test dental products and materials that have advanced the practice of dentistry and made the patient experience more positive. The ADA Seal of Acceptance long has been a valuable and respected guide to consumer dental care products. The monthly The Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA) is the ADA’s flagship publication and the best-read scientific journal in dentistry. For more information about the ADA, visit ADA.org. For more information on oral health, including prevention, care and treatment of dental disease, visit the ADA’s consumer website MouthHealthy.org.