(Charlotte, February 19, 2013) – In celebration of National Children’s Dental Health Month, National Children’s Oral Health Foundation: America’s ToothFairy® (NCOHF) and Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) and its 4,000 Clubs are proud to announce an expansion of the partnership that began in 2010. The goal of this partnership expansion is to encourage good dental hygiene and foster stronger leaders among teens by providing critical oral health education and mentoring activities in some 4,000 Clubs nationwide.
Through implementation of the America’s ToothFairy Youth Mentoring Program, Clubs will begin incorporating oral health education into their leadership activities. Using America’s ToothFairy Community Education Kits, youth mentors will develop leadership skills while sharing information on good oral hygiene practices, prevention strategies and proper nutrition with Club members. Each America’s ToothFairy Community Education Kit includes engaging, age-appropriate oral health lessons for younger Club members.
The partnership began through Tomorrow’s SMILES, an America’s ToothFairy program providing donated oral health services for at-risk teens. Youth development professionals at local Boys & Girls Clubs recommend members suffering pain and ridicule from damaged smiles. In return, America’s ToothFairy identifies caring dentists willing to donate their services and expertise to give these deserving teens an attractive, healthy smile. In exchange, teen recipients Pay It Forward by sharing helpful oral health lessons with younger Boys & Girls Club members.
“Our positive experience working with the America’s ToothFairy life-changing Tomorrow’s SMILES program sparked our interest in further expanding our wonderful partnership,” says Jim Clark, Boys & Girls Clubs of America President and CEO. “With the educational materials and free dental services provided by America’s ToothFairy, we will continue to promote educational and leadership learning opportunities for the young people we serve to ensure they live healthier, more productive lives.”
“We are honored to be a strong partner of Boys & Girls Clubs of America,” stated Fern Ingber, NCOHF President & CEO. “Working together, we will help prevent the devastation caused by childhood tooth decay as we protect the smiles of thousands of young people across America.”
National Children’s Oral Health Foundation, known as America’s ToothFairy, was formed in 2006 as an aggressive response to eliminate pediatric dental disease by providing community programs and organizations like Boys & Girls Clubs with comprehensive resources to deliver vital educational, preventive, and treatment services to children most in need. Supporting the delivery of oral health education and care beginning at the prenatal level, NCOHF: America’s ToothFairy engages caring dental professionals and the general public in programs designed to promote children’s oral health. Through the generosity of dedicated supporters, NCOHF: America’s ToothFairy has reached millions of children through its national non-profit clinical network and volunteer professional and student community service programs.
About Boys & Girls Clubs of America
For more than 100 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (GreatFutures.org) has enabled young people most in need to achieve great futures as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Today, 4,000 Clubs serve some 4 million young people through Club membership and community outreach. Clubs are located in cities, towns, public housing and on Native American lands across the country, and serve military families in BGCA-affiliated Youth Centers on U.S. military installations worldwide. They provide a safe place, caring adult mentors, fun and friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours. Club programs promote academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. In a Harris Survey of alumni, 57 percent said the Club saved their lives. National headquarters are located in Atlanta. Learn more at http;//bgca.org/facebook and http://bgca.org/twitter.
About National Children’s Oral Health Foundation: America’s ToothFairy®
National Children’s Oral Health Foundation: America’s ToothFairy (NCOHF) is dedicated to raising awareness of the #1 chronic childhood illness: pediatric dental disease, facilitating the delivery of comprehensive oral health services and eliminating this preventable disease from future generations. With support provided to a growing Affiliate network of exemplary non-profit community programs, the America’s ToothFairy Kids Club, professional and student service programs, NCOHF: America’s ToothFairy is creating a powerful, united effort to eliminate tooth decay and protect the smiles of our most vulnerable children. For more information about NCOHF: America’s ToothFairy or Tomorrow’s SMILES, please visit www.AmericasToothFairy.org.
For more information:
Boys & Girls Clubs of America
Jan Still-Lindeman, Senior Director, Public Relations
Phone: (404) 487-5739
Email: jslindeman@BGCA.org
National Children’s Oral Health Foundation: America’s ToothFairy
Jill Malmgren, Director of Marketing & Communications
Phone: (704) 350-1600, ext. 105
Email: jmalmgren@ncohf.org
