The ADA Foundation hosted its second annual Give Kids A Smile awards event at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, on May 12.
The association's Give Kids A Smile program delivers free oral healthcare to millions of underserved children, and has enlisted hundreds of thousands of volunteers since it began in 2003.
The event honors members of Congress who have supported the ADA's oral health advocacy goals, and is a forum to announce grants to other programs that care for underserved children. The event is held during the ADA's annual Washington Leadership Conference.
Receiving awards at this year's event were Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Russell Feingold (D-WI), who received the ADA's Oral Health Champion Award. Collins and Feingold coauthored the Dental Health Improvement Act in 2002, and worked to reauthorize it last year.
Also receiving an award was Rep. Michael Ross (D-AR), who received the ADA's Leadership in Oral Health Advocacy Award. Ross is the lead sponsor of the Essential Oral Health Care Act of 2009, the cornerstone legislation of the ADA's oral healthcare reform proposal.
The event also honored five dental outreach programs, which received $20,000 grants from the ADA Foundation's Give Kids A Smile Fund for their pediatric oral health initiatives.
Copyright © 2009 DrBicuspid.com
