CHICAGO, Illinois--The American Dental Association Foundation held its second annual Give Kids A Smile Awards Gala at the Library of Congress May 12, 2009, in Washington, D.C.
Give Kids A Smile is the American Dental Association's signature charitable program, delivering free oral health care to millions of underserved children and enlisting hundreds of thousands of volunteers since its inception in 2003.
The Awards Gala honors members of Congress who have supported the ADA's oral health advocacy goals and is a forum to announce grants to other programs that care for underserved children. The event is held during the ADA's annual Washington Leadership Conference.
Congressional awards presented
This year's congressional honorees are:
* Sen. Susan M. Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Russell D. Feingold (D-WI) receive the ADA's Oral Health Champion Award. Collins and Feingold co-authored the Dental Health Improvement Act in 2002 and then worked to have it re-authorized last year. Since its inception, the law has provided almost $17 million to states to improve oral health access through enhanced dental workforce programs.
* Rep. Michael Ross (D-AR), who receives the ADA's Leadership in Oral Health Advocacy Award. Ross is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's Health Subcommittee and will play a key role in the health care reform debate. Ross is the lead sponsor of the Essential Oral Health Care Act of 2009, the cornerstone legislation of the ADA's oral health care reform proposal.
Give Kids A Smile grants awarded
The gala honored five 2009 grantees, all receiving $20,000 grants from the ADA Foundation's Give Kids A Smile Fund for their pediatric oral health initiatives. Give Kids A Smile Program Champion grantees are the America's Dentists Care Foundation (Missions of Mercy) and TeamSmile. Program Growth grantee, the Hispanic Dental Association, will fund four community oral health projects led by student and local chapters to provide screenings and treatment for underserved populations.
The National Dental Association, a Program Growth grantee, will fund the Deamonte Driver Dental Project--a grassroots endeavor of NDA's Robert T. Freeman Dental Society to support a school-based mobile dental van servicing nine schools in Prince Georges County, Md.
Oral Health America will use its Program Growth grant to fund three Smiles Across America affiliates to improve oral health of underserved children in targeted schools and enhance access to restorative dental care.
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