Smile Factory Receives Donation From Agua Caliente Band
The Smile Factory for the Children of the Desert has been awarded a $10,000 donation by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians to assist in The Smile Factory’s outreach efforts. This grant had made it possible for The Smile Factory to provide much-needed dental services for Valley youngsters at the Sunny Sands Elementary School located in Cathedral City, within Palm Springs Unified School District.
The Agua Caliente’s generous donation enabled The Smile Factory’s mobile dental clinic to provide dental screening and dental services to students at Sunny Sands for approximately six weeks.
“We are enormously grateful to the Tribe for its generosity and welcome them as one of our community partners to educate our Valley youth about the importance of good dental hygiene in their formative years,” said Eve Fromberg, executive director.
With its mobile dental clinic, the Palm Springs-based Smile Factory provides free dental treatment for children between the ages of 4 and 11 at 18 elementary schools in Palm Springs Unified School District, plus 20 elementary schools in the Desert Sands Unified School District and kindergartens in Coachella Valley Unified School district.
Each year the Smile Factory provides free screenings and treatment to approximately 17,000 children and a range of individual dental services to more than 2,000 children who are in need. These efforts are funded in part by First 5 Riverside and other community donations or grants.
Founded in 2000, The Smile Factory has incrementally extended its reach to include east Valley schools and other local charities serving children in the Coachella Valley such as the Boys and Girls Club. During the month of July, The Smile Factory partnered with the Boys & Girls Club in Palm Springs to provide free dental screening and services for children attending the Club’s summer programs.
“The children and families here at the Boys & Girls Club of Palm Springs received such a benefit from our partnership with the Smile Factory this summer,” said Dean Moore, executive director. “Over 45 Club members received dental services during the weeks that The Smile Factory’s mobile dental clinic trailer was here,” he added.
As funding permits, the non-profit Smile Factory will continue to expand its services to include
more children in the Coachella Valley. For more information, call 318-2465.