THANK YOU to all of our volunteers
and sponsors who made our 2018
Reading mission such a big success!
Together, we donated over $950,000
worth of dental services to the
underserved.
MOM-n-PA’s
Reading Mission
A Resounding
Success
By Dr. Gary S. Davis
Unfortunately, there are thousands
of Americans whose oral health needs
are not being met.
I am very proud of our volunteers and
the tremendous work they do on behalf
of the underserved. Later in this article,
I will share the statistics over the last six
years, but first I want to share a couple
of positives that I have observed that
are hard to measure but that make a
difference deep within the souls of
those who volunteer and those that
benefit from our mission.
First and foremost is the true happiness
I see in the eyes and hear in the words
of our volunteers. Each year I hear many
volunteers thanking our chairs and
leads with quotes like these:
“There is nothing like it!
Once you participate in one you
no doubt catch the passion!”
Since 2013, MOM-n-PA Dental Missions
has been a catalyst in helping the
underserved receive quality oral
health care. MOM-n-PA is an annual
two-day free dental clinic for
underserved Pennsylvanians in
which dental treatment is provided
at NO COST to individuals who
cannot afford dental care. Many of
these patients might otherwise have
no hope of receiving care.
Treatment is provided on a first-come,
first-served basis and all services are
provided free of charge because of the
generous donations of many sponsors
and the work of our dedicated
volunteers.
20
“ A life-changing experience”
“For me, an experience
of a lifetime!”
“This experience as a volunteer
has been transformational!
Here we were, standing side by
side, working together and doing
what we were trained to do.”
SE P T E M B E R/OC TOBER 2018 | P EN N S YLVA N IA D EN TA L J O UR N AL
Year-in and year-out I learn, and many of
our volunteers learn, the true happiness
that comes from serving others. Many
volunteers tell me that they feel like they
received more from the MOM-n-PA
mission than they gave to the underserved.
In addition to this feeling of happiness,
our volunteers also tell me that they
enjoy the opportunity to practice
alongside others at a collegial,
collaborative event. I truly enjoy
working alongside other dentists,
dental auxiliaries, nurses, dental
students and other volunteers and
sharing experiences and knowledge.
A second positive is the pride I see in
the communities we serve. The towns
we select have a host of economic
issues in addition to their dental needs.
All of the cities we have served stepped
up and took ownership for the success
of the mission. For example, many
groups like the Berks County Dental
Society, the Berks County Foundation,
the Berks County United Way, the I-LEAD
Charter School and the Reading Hispanic
Community helped plan the Reading
mission, recruit volunteers and recruit
patients. Their local support was
extremely important to the success
of the mission and their leaders and
members were proud of their efforts
and the improvement of their
community.
Reading, like all the other communities
we have served over the past six years,
is asking us to return as soon as possible.
The local community leaders in Reading
are still receiving positive feedback
about our latest mission and they are
proud that they were able to make a
difference in the lives of others.
A third positive is that our MOM-n-PA
missions expose the goodness of dental
professionals on a major scale by
generating positive regional PR and
creates oral health care advocates of
approximately 1,000 lay-volunteers
and 2,000 patients per event.