Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures
The Bright Smiles, Bright Futures Grant sponsored by Colgate promotes oral health for children with weekly social media posts, articles in Sisters Magazine, a radio interview, and quarterly virtual events. NCNW Sections are eligible to host the BSBF van that provides oral screenings and referrals to participating youth, free of charge. BSBF is promoted on radio, email, and social media platforms, specifically you can view one of the oral health webinars titled ‘Send Them Back to School with a Smile Easy Steps to Kids Oral Health’ on NCNW’s YouTube page. NCNW has used this partnership to promote a variety of events such as dental career webinars and oral health towns where NCNW trained caregivers provided expert advice about the important roles that oral health plays in overall health. In addition to providing experiential anecdotes from parents and guardians, including BSBF parents and guardians about overcoming hesitation, reticence for dental care.
Data from 2011 – 2016, has shown children from ages 2 to 5 years, 28% of non-Hispanic Black children had cavities in their primary teeth compared with 18% of non-Hispanic White children. In this partnership NCNW created a resource bank for parents, caregivers, and educators on the vital importance of oral examination and care for children ages 0-12 years old. NCNW hosted Town Halls which reach 100,000 families to inform them on the links between oral health and other overall health disparities that affect the African American communities. Oral health information has been sent to over 13,000 individuals and reached over 3,000 views on NCNW’s social media platforms. Colgate has been a partner in NCNW initiatives such as the CDC GoodHealth Wins grant and events such as 2021 17th Uncommon Height Gala; the partnership has been so successful this National Program has prompted events through NCNW Sections from Texas, California, New York State, Washington DC and many more locations within the United States.
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