gifts in action:

Smile Drive 2024 Has Tremendous Impact

2024 marked the 10th anniversary since our first Smile Drive campaign. We celebrated from January through April with fun games and contests, including an All-Star Challenge. All volunteers were invited to see if they could collect more oral care products than one of our exceptional past volunteers for a chance to win $250.

Other volunteers held their drives during National Children’s Dental Health Month in February to build awareness about children who suffer with poor oral health because they lack dental hygiene supplies at home. Sarah Vogel of Eureka, CA and her colleagues at the Humbolt County Dental Advisory Group (HCDAG) collected more than 3,000 items by soliciting dental offices for donations, working with a local grocery story so that customers could donate hygiene kits, and sharing information about their Smile Drive with local charitable organizations and churches.

Volunteers from Humbolt County Dental Advisory Group in Eureka, CA get ready to prepare dental hygiene kits with the 3,033 items they collected. The group won the All-Star contest by collecting the most oral care items during the Smile Drive 10th Anniversary celebration.

“This was a joint effort of HCDAG, which includes our Public Health Department, dental providers, and several nonprofits,” Sarah told us. “Our group wanted to do something to bring awareness to the issues of poor oral health during Children's Dental Health Month. We are very impressed with the response from our community.”

HCDAG distributed their collected supplies to 16 family and community resource centers throughout rural Humboldt County, CA. In addition, their online drive received enough in donations to send 1,800 toothbrushes to Redwood Community Action Agency (RDAA), an organization that works to enable low-income or disadvantaged individuals to gain the necessary skills, education, and motivation they need to become self-sufficient.