I discovered a fabulous initiative while I was in Kentucky this past September for Idea Festival called Making Smiles Happen, which is all about improving health through better oral care.
Photo credit: www.bestevents.us
New in 2015, the Delta Dental of Kentucky charitable initiative Making Smiles Happen supports non-profits. They’re providing financial support in the form of a charitable donation to a variety of non-profit partners focused on ensuring children and adults in Kentucky have access to oral care and oral health education. Their goal is to fund programs that can overall help Kentuckians live healthier lives, which I love given the state of our healthcare system.
They also apparently accept applications for organizations that are of great service to the communities in which Delta Dental serves and since its inception, they have already awarded grants to more than 60 organizations statewide. I love this idea — it would be great to see other states step up to the plate and take on similar programs around the country. Bravo!
Photo credit: Delta Dental KY
At this year’s Idea Festival, their team set up a massive larger than life-sized green horse at the Kentucky Center and asked people to write down a word or phrase of “what makes them happy,”and paste it on the horse. Over the course of the three days, a number of creative answers emerged. Some of my favorites include the ones I list below…
A job that I love, my children, innovation and creativity, my sister, coffee, making others smile, culture, Jesus, #language, organic lifestyle, music, pizza, Christmas, ultimate frisbee, writing, my dog, waking up in the morning blessed, the universe, when #diversity is embraced (mine), dark chocolate, canoeing on a lake at dawn (also mine), flowing water, #horses, perspective, my wife, laughing children, all inclusive feminism, my truck, taking pictures, making art and helping someone!
There’s no shortage of innovative and fresh creative ideas that their Louisville-based team is working on. They also have a program called Teeth on the Go, which is a statewide oral health education program, catered to kindergarten through sixth grade students and their teachers. They offer free Teeth on the Go oral health learning kits, which can be requested by teachers anywhere in the state, as well as in-school presentations featuring University of Louisville & University of Kentucky dental students and their mascot, Marshall Molar. How cute is that?
The main goal is to teach kids about proper oral hygiene. The free kits include one week’s worth of lesson plans for grades K-2 and grades 3-6, activities and worksheets that can be photocopied for mass distribution, an oversize tooth and toothbrush model to demonstrate good brushing techniques (I love this), a CD of The Brush-A-Long song (hilarious), a DVD about oral health care for children and children’s books about oral health.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
