The Wrigley Company Foundation, in partnership with the New Zealand Dental Association, is sponsoring an $84,000 community service grant program to provide oral care to underserved communities in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands.
Between 2013 and 2015, the Wrigley Company Foundation will make the money available to community-minded dentists and dental students to implement oral health community service projects in vulnerable and underserved communities, according to a company press release.
The grants provide the necessary funding to cover the cost of supplies and other out-of-pocket expenses so that volunteer dentists can begin or expand community service programs within their own communities or the communities of the Pacific Islands.
Last year, grant recipients recruited approximately 30 volunteer dentists and dental therapists, 213 dental assistants, plus teachers and parents to educate 1,200 adults and children and treat more than 100 patients from some of the country's most disadvantaged communities, the organizers noted.