To volunteer for any of the year-round local community efforts below, please contact Lori Dees, DCDS Foundation Manager, at [email protected] or call 972-386-5741 ext. 228. Your generous donation of time and talents are appreciated!
Senior’s Smiles
Do you enjoy working with the elderly? Senior’s Smiles, a program aimed at nursing homes, need your expertise and time! In coordination with the Dallas Dental Hygienists’ Association, the DCDS Foundation provides oral health education to the elderly in our community.
Tooth Talk
When school kicks into gear, so do we! Volunteers give Tooth Talk presentations at local elementary schools in coordination with the Dallas Dental Hygienists’ Association, with supplies provided by the DCDS Foundation.
The HOPEFUL Smiles™ Program
Imagine how different your life would be if you lacked a very basic asset — your smile. Though most of us take our smiles for granted, many are not so fortunate. Simply greeting someone with a smile can be daunting for women with missing or damaged teeth. The cause of the damage varies, but its impact remains the same: women who suffer from an impaired ability to smile are hindered in both professional and social settings. To address this problem, we founded HOPEFUL Smiles™ in 2006 to offer restorative dental care to qualifying Attitudes & Attire® clients.
Hopeful Smiles™ is a unique partnership with local dental professionals to assist women who are in critical need of restorative dental care. Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors and our talented team of dental professionals, we have restored the smiles of over 200 women. Although over 55 dentists in the DFW area participate in the program, more dentists are needed. Dentists provide their time and talents and the Hopeful Smiles program provides funds for the materials.
Dallas Prosthodontics has been associated with Hopeful Smiles™ for over four years. There is no greater feeling than to be in a position to give someone their life back through their smile. My experience with Hopeful Smiles’™ patients has been more than rewarding. The impact we are able to make on the patient’s life is as gratifying to us as it is to them. We look forward to each and every case. — Dr. Paulino Castellon
Attitudes & Attire® clients must have impaired smiles or severely, damaged anterior teeth that limit their employ-ability or health. They must be committed to their personal growth and sobriety, if addiction has been an issue in their past, and be actively seeking or maintaining employment or obtaining continued education. who participate in the HOPEFUL Smiles™ program must complete the following requirements:
- Attend the first, second and third workshops at Attitudes & Attire®.
- Have missing or impaired teeth that are visible when they smile.
- Complete 20 hours of volunteer service at Attitudes & Attire® within 6 months of completing the third workshop.
- Demonstrate they are currently employed or actively involved in a job search.
- Have a minimum of 12 months of sobriety if addiction has been an issue in the past.
- Arrange own transportation to all dental appointments.
- Pay a $25 non-refundable application fee.
- Attend scheduled appointments on time and adhere to the dentist’s instructions. Clients who are unable to follow these rules will be asked to leave the program immediately.
- Patience and gratitude are determining factors for selection into the HOPEFUL Smiles™ program.
For more information, visit the HOPEFUL Smiles™ website.
Attitudes & Attire® Speakers
DCDS Foundation Board approved an affiliation with Attitudes & Attire to provide speakers for educational workshops and help raise awareness of volunteer opportunities for the organizations initiatives, including the HOPEFUL Smiles, Boots to Heels and Veterans Serving Veterans. Attitudes & Attire is a nonprofit agency dedicated to promoting personal growth for women seeking self-sufficiency. The organization serves women emerging from difficult and desperate situations, such as domestic violence, addiction, incarceration, illness and chronic unemployment.
Veterans Serving Veterans
The Veterans Serving Veterans program seeks to pair HOPEFUL Smiles clients in the Boots to Heels program with veteran dentists. Currently fifty-five dentists in the Dallas area have agreed to provide mission dentistry in their offices, but more are needed.