“I didn’t have a toothbrush. I had been wishing for one, and my dream came true!”
– Seven-year-old David, when he received his very first toothbrush from America’s ToothFairy 2014 Smile Drive
This year, will you join the Smile Drive to help children like David?
Throughout February, National Children’s Dental Health Month, dentists and companies across the country will participate in the 2015 Smile Drive – a national campaign to raise oral health awareness and collect toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss and rinse for at-risk children.
America’s ToothFairy: National Children’s Oral Health Foundation (NCOHF)® launched its first Smile Drive in February 2014 in collaboration with Walmart, an America’s ToothFairy Underwriter. High school, college and professional chapters of Students United With America’s ToothFairy were activated to hold collection drives, host “Meet the ToothFairy” events, and distribute oral health educational materials at Walmart stores nationwide. More than 430,000 oral care products were donated and distributed to vulnerable children, many of whom had been sharing a toothbrush with siblings, using the same toothbrush for years, or didn’t have one at all.
With a 2015 goal of collecting one million oral care products, Smile Drive locations will expand beyond select Walmart stores to include dental practices, schools, businesses, and pharmacies.
Participating dentists and businesses will be recognized in the National Smile Drive Directory with links to their websites and receive a promotional toolkit that includes event flyers, content for patient newsletters, press release for local media, donation box labels and free America’s ToothFairy Kids Club registration cards. Dental practices that collect and donate a minimum of 100 oral care products will receive a certificate for in-office display and be eligible for recognition in local and national media and prizes from leading dental companies.
Oral care products collected through the 2015 Smile Drive will be distributed to beneficiaries on March 20, 2015, World Oral Health Day. In addition to Boys and Girls Clubs and America’s ToothFairy Affiliate clinical partners, donated products will be delivered to local shelters and other non-profit organizations caring for underserved children and their families.
“We are very grateful for the support of Kid’s Crest® and Oral-B® Stages® products at Walmart along with many other caring companies, media partners and volunteers for our second annual America’s ToothFairy Smile Drive,” said Fern Ingber, President and CEO of America’s ToothFairy: National Children’s Oral Health Foundation. “This year, with the participation of dental professionals across the U.S., we hope to provide more than one million children vital oral health products to protect their young, beautiful smiles.”
America’s ToothFairy was formed in 2006 to provide an aggressive, collaborative response to the children’s oral health crisis. Last year, America’s ToothFairy Affiliate partners and community programs reached nearly two million children and caregivers with critical oral health educational, preventive and treatment services.
To participate in the Smile Drive and be recognized on the National Smile Drive Directory, register today at www.AmericasToothFairy.org or call (800) 559-9838.
