Smile Squared and Schnucks Team Up To Benefit Local Children
ST. LOUIS, MO (PRWEB) November 03, 2014 -- The simple act of buying a toothbrush will now help a needy child in our community, through a new partnership between St. Louis-based social enterprise Smile Squared and Schnuck Markets.
For every Smiled Squared toothbrush bought at Schnucks, the social enterprise will donate a toothbrush to St. Louis-based nonprofit organizations Give Kids A Smile, which provides comprehensive dental care to underserved children.
“Imagine if every family in St. Louis walked into Schnucks and replaced their worn-out toothbrushes with Smile Squared brushes,” said Smile Squared President Eric Cope. “Such a simple act could have a huge impact on our community – and brighten the smiles of thousands of children.”
Access to quality dental care is a major concern for the 250,000 impoverished children in Missouri. A healthy smile begins with good dental hygiene habits at home.
“Every smile is a new beginning, and Smile Squared is doing that one toothbrush at a time,” Give Kids A Smile Executive Director Joan Allen says.
The Schnucks partnership marks the start of a Smiled Squared initiative to not just help the smiles of children globally, but locally. This fall, the company donated 5,000 toothbrushes to nonprofit Operation Food Search, the largest distributor of free food in the bi-state region.
Operation Backpack, one of Operation Food Search’s initiatives, decreases the burden of childhood hunger throughout the metro St. Louis area by providing a weekend food assistance program. Now, Smiled Squared toothbrushes will be among the goods given to needy families.
“Just as the food and nutrition support that we provide has a powerful impact on the health of our neighbors in need, how one cares for their teeth and gums also has a powerful affect on their health,” says Operation Food Search Executive Director Sunny Schaefer.
Smile Squared has donated more than 100,000 toothbrushes to children in all 50 states and families in 20 countries worldwide. Company president Eric Cope and his wife, Geri, created Smile Squared after a volunteer experience at a dental clinic in Guatemala, where they saw children with preventable and severe dental problems. Most of them didn’t own a toothbrush.
"We wanted to do something to help," Eric Cope said. "We’re thrilled that we can make our global impact local.”
Founded in St. Louis in 2011, Smile Squared is a consumer goods company. For every toothbrush sold, Smiled Squared gives a toothbrush to a needy child. Find us online at smiledsquared.com, on Facebook and on Twitter @Smile_Squared.
Give Kids A Smile provides comprehensive dental care to low-income, St. Louis-area children. Founded in 2002, much of its work is completed through clinics hosted at the St. Louis University Center For Advanced Dental Education.
Operation Food Search is a St. Louis-based non-profit organization dedicated to ending hunger in the greater St. Louis metropolitan area. Established in 1981, it is the largest distributor of free food in the bi-state region.
Schnuck Markets is celebrating 75 years of serving customers. Founded in St. Louis in 1939, the family-owned company operates 98 grocery stores and 93 in-store pharmacies in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Iowa.
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Eric Cope, Smile Squared, http://www.smilesquared.com, +1 314-884-5972, [email protected]
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