America's ToothFairy Girl and Boy Scout Patch Program Engages Thousands of Youth in Oral Health Awareness
Charlotte, NC (PRWEB) October 07, 2014 -- National Children’s Oral Health Foundation: America’s ToothFairy (NCOHF) is mobilizing thousands of Boy and Girl Scouts in oral health education and awareness through a new America’s ToothFairy Girl and Boy Scout Patch Program.
Through this Program, Scouts across the nation learn about positive oral health behaviors, develop their leadership skills and explore careers in dentistry by connecting with members of their community.
The idea for this exciting program came about as NCOHF was preparing for its first Smile Drive in February 2014—in collaboration with Walmart, Crest and Oral-B—to collect oral health care products for children in need. Each participating Walmart store requested a community group lead the effort and donate the collection to a local non-profit. NCOHF reached out to groups with reputations for service, compassion and follow-through, and local Girl Scout Troops and Councils were some of the first to respond.
Based on the success of the Smile Drive and feedback from these Scouts, NCOHF created the Real-Life ToothFairy Patch for Girl Scouts and the SuperHero Squad Patch for Boy Scouts. Thousands of Scouts across the country have already registered to pursue their America’s ToothFairy patch this fall; registration remains open on the America’s ToothFairy website, and more Scouts join each week.
Participating Scouts may become part of the NCOHF My Smile Matters Youth Movement—an initiative founded in 2013 with a $370,000 grant from the DentaQuest Foundation. The Movement mobilizes youth across the country to break the cycle of tooth decay and protect millions of children from needless suffering.
“America’s ToothFairy is thrilled to be working alongside Scout Troops across the country to bring national attention to the issue of children’s oral health,” said Fern Ingber, NCOHF President and CEO. “As promising young leaders in education and advocacy, Scouts are making an excellent contribution through their smile-saving activities.”
The Patches are available as a participation incentive to all interested Troops and Councils. Click here for more information.
About National Children’s Oral Health Foundation: America’s ToothFairy® /
National Children’s Oral Health Foundation of Canada: Canada’s ToothFairy ™
NCOHF: America’s ToothFairy / Canada’s ToothFairy 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 a growing Affiliate network of exemplary non-profit community programs, the Kids Club, professional and student service programs, America’s ToothFairy / Canada’s ToothFairy is building a powerful, united effort to eliminate tooth decay and protect the smiles of our most vulnerable children. For more information, please visit http://www.ncohf.org.
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Amber Holloway, National Children Oral Health Foundation, http://www.ncohf.org, +1 (800) 559-9838, [email protected]
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