Dear Friend,
Thank you for being part of the KinderSmile Foundation village! We hope that you and your family are in good health. With your continued support, this winter we continued to provide access to oral health care for our State's most vulnerable populations in all three of our Dental Homes and through our programs, and completed 2023 with a smile! We are excited to share what we have been up to this season, including our celebration of Give Kids a Smile Month, Mental Health Awareness, and our continued efforts to further our mission and advocate for expanded access to oral health care on a macro level. We are truly grateful to YOU, our donors, grantors, volunteers, and friends who are all part of the KinderSmile Foundation village. Together, we can work to ensure that every family has access to a dentist and preventable dental diseases are eradicated. Your continued support and generosity have been truly appreciated! #ItTakesAVillage Blessings, |
|
|
Nicole McGrath-Barnes, DDS, FACD Founder & CEO
KinderSmile Foundation |
| Michal Herman, DDS COO KinderSmile Foundation |
|
|
The Latest from KinderSmile Foundation |
|
|
National Children's Dental Health Month and Give Kids a Smile Month |
|
| KinderSmile Foundation recognized National Children’s Dental Health Month by honoring KSF’s 17th annual Give Kids a Smile throughout the entire month of February! The events were celebrated at KinderSmile Community Oral Health Centers Bloomfield, Newark, and Trenton, and through fun interactive oral health education sessions at many of our community partners. Underserved and uninsured children received free preventive dental care, regardless of insurance status. All children were promptly linked to our Dental Homes for continuous care. With NJ’s expansion of Medicaid to cover all qualified children regardless of immigration status, we hosted representatives from several of New Jersey’s Managed Care Organizations at our Dental Homes, to help families navigate the application process.
As an organization, we served a total of 876 children! Of the patients seen 18.4% were uninsured, 75.1% were insured by Medicaid/NJ FamilyCare, and only 6.5% had private dental insurance. The value of direct care provided to children was an astounding $482,038!
Thanks to Priya Vaid and Tanvi Patel we provided oral health education to 1,559 children in their schools! Our partners at the Boys and Girls Club of Newark provided oral health and nutritional education to 433 additional school children. Thank you! A special thanks to Delta Dental of New Jersey Foundation for their continued support of KinderSmile Foundation’s Give Kids a Smile Day, and to Delta Dental of NJ volunteers who joined the fun! |
|
|
Lack of access to oral health care is correlated to mental health and confidence. Perpetual dental disease impacts children and adults’ mental health, leading to issues with speech, school performance, absenteeism from school or work, and lack of self esteem.
Supporting the mental health of our staff is just as important as providing care to the community. We are grateful to Stacey Pinilis, LCSW, who donated her time and expertise this January to provide Mental Health Training days to KinderSmile Foundation's staff. Stacey believes in bringing a solid meditation and mindfulness practice to her work. Through a variety of techniques including visualization, EFT tapping, and supportive conversations, she demonstrated her passion for contributing to our team's wellbeing. Thank you!
This journey started in December with an intensive Mental Health First Aid Training hosted by The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey, where Dr. Nicole McGrath-Barnes and Dr. Michal Herman learned about identifying and responding to signs of mental health challenges. The seminar led us to set up Mental Health Corners at KinderSmile Community Oral Health Centers, inclusive of resource materials and mindfulness activities. Team members are encouraged to take a few moments of solace when needed. |
|
|
Advocating for Expanded Access to Oral Health Care |
|
|
Oral health is the gateway to total health and wellbeing. The prevalence of untreated decay is much higher for Black and Hispanic children than for non-Hispanic white children, yet oral disease is the #1 preventable disease! In the last few months we have been fortunate to focus on advocacy efforts through various initiatives that raise awareness of the need to close the gap and make equitable access to oral health care a priority. We had the opportunity to present a Roadmap to Improving Access to Oral Health Care in the State of NJ to members of Governor Murphy's advisory teams and several legislators. We outlined solutions to repairing the broken oral health system in our state, seeking oral health legislative champions. |
|
Our documentary film, Toothache: The Painful Truth About Oral Health Care Inequity, produced by KinderSmile Foundation in 2023, was selected to the 22nd Annual Garden State Film Festival! This film gives the audience a bird’s eye view of the disparities we see everyday, outlines the strides NJ has taken, and lists necessary resolutions. Toothache will be screened at the Jersey Shore Arts Center Palaia Theater in Asbury Park on Saturday, March 23, 2024 at the 12 pm block.
The continued support from you, our village, has been genuinely appreciated! It will take collaborative efforts to truly make a change and prevent a tragedy from happening in our own Garden State. |
|
|
On behalf of the entire KinderSmile Foundation Village, we express our heartfelt gratitude for your continued support. Your generosity brings hope and smiles to those who need it most. Your tax-deductible donation has a direct lasting impact on the health and wellbeing of every child and adult served at our Dental Homes and through our programs. To learn more about donations of stock or planned giving,
please email Nye Veale. |
This year we are introducing our
Community Service Learning Program Scholarship! With continued mentorship and motivation of our dedicated volunteers, scholarship awards through this program are intended to increase and diversify the dental workforce, especially in public health and community dentistry. Please consider a donation to support a legacy of service and giving back. |
|
|
Thank You to Our 2023-2024 Grantors: |
|
|
Our Contact Information
*{{Organization Name}}*
*{{Organization Address}}*
*{{Organization Phone}}*
*{{Organization Website}}*
*{{Unsubscribe}}* |
| |
|
|
