CareCredit supports ADA Foundation Give Kids A Smile Fund with $100,000 grant

July 8, 2015
The funds will be used to support the oral health of children from underserved communities and the ADA Mission of Mercy.
Dr. Reneida Reyes, president, ADA Foundation and Gene Wurth, executive director, ADA Foundation receive CareCredit's $100,000 Grant to benefit the ADA Foundation GKAS Fund.

For the ninth consecutive year, CareCredit has donated $100,000 to the ADA Foundation (ADAF) Give Kids A Smile (GKAS) Fund.

The $100,000 grant is designated to support GKAS through funding of three major initiatives:

  • GKAS NASCAR elementary-school oral-health education events for underserved children
  • ADA Mission of Mercy and GKAS oral-health education and treatment event
  • GKAS and TeamSmile collaborative oral-health treatment events bringing sports and dental professionals together to improve children’s oral health

Building off the success of previous years, children from underserved communities will participate in GKAS NASCAR oral-health education events to be held in Indiana, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Alabama from July to October 2015. These education events will incorporate key messaging from the Ad Council’s 2min2x oral care campaign, educating and encouraging children to spend two minutes brushing their teeth, 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 one-day free oral health-care 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 GKAS area to provide up to 200 underserved children with education, screenings, cleanings, sealants, fluoride treatments, and needed restorative care.

In the 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.

For more information about the GKAS events, visit facebook.com/GiveKidsASmile or follow GKAS on Twitter @GiveKidsASmile.