Record Number of Volunteers Participate in Healthy Athletes® Special Smiles® Initiative
Record Number of Volunteers Participate in Healthy Athletes® Special Smiles® Initiative
Athletes at the June 19, Special Olympic Massachusetts Games received more than just a chance at a gold medal, thanks to volunteers from Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM). Along with members of other area dental and hygiene schools, GSDM students, faculty, alumni, and staff provided free dental screenings and mouth guards to the Olympians as part of the Healthy Athletes® Special Smiles® initiative and distributed goodie bags with items including toothbrushes and mouth guards as well as a referral list of dentists.
Led by Senior Global Clinical Advisor to Special Olympics Healthy Athletes® Special Smiles® and GSDM Clinical Professor of Pediatric Dentistry Dr. Steve Perlman—who worked with Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver to start the program in 1993—volunteers screened 285 athletes, 50 more than last year. Volunteering also exposed students to this underserved patient population in a way they may not have experienced at School.
Special Smiles Local Co-Coordinator and GSDM Associate Professor Dr. Paul Farsai again worked with Dr. Perlman and Co-Coordinator and GSDM Director of Alumni Relations Stacey McNamee to put together this event. He added, “It was once again a successful event, but this year was especially successful from a volunteer standpoint with a record number of 150 volunteers unselfishly donating their time. Our volunteers included Dean Jeffrey Hutter and Associate Dean for Advanced Education & International Programs Dr. Tom Kilgore along with his wife Colleen. I believe that their support of this event really sends a positive message and lets the GSDM community know just how important this annual event is to the mission of our School.”
“Each time I volunteer at this annual event I am overwhelmed by the success and by how Dr. Steve Perlman, one of our alums, found and addressed such an extensive need for oral health care,” said Dean Hutter. “He is a wonderful example of how helping one person can lead to helping hundreds, then thousands, and now millions around the globe. I hope that each and every student who volunteered on Saturday was able to meet and become inspired by Dr. Perlman and I know I speak for the entire GSDM community when I say, ‘I am proud to call him one of our own’.”
Also this year, artist Richard Mangino, friend of Dr. Perlman and survivor of a severe septic infection that ravaged his body’s systems and led to the amputation of all four of his limbs, painted the t-shirt design. The unique design depicted athletes of all genders, sizes, and abilities in front of a Boston-theme background. T-shirts were distributed to all Healthy Athletes® Special Smiles® volunteers.