Faith Inc. of Oregon County has received a $10,000 grant from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks through the Delta Dental Rural Youth Program. The grant will support a partnership with Alton School District and the Big Smiles mobile unit to provide dental exams for students who are financially unable to access care.
“We’re working with our school district to provide exams and dental care for our students who don’t have dental insurance or Medicaid, who’ve slipped through the cracks,” said Diana Clary with Faith Inc. “We’d like to thank the CFO and Delta Dental for awarding us this grant.”
A total of $130,000 was granted to 13 agencies during a virtual event on Dec. 18. Delta Dental of Missouri contributed $100,000 for the grant program, which was supplemented by $30,000 from the CFO’s unrestricted grantmaking funds. For a full list of recipients, visit cfozarks.org/delta.
“Every child deserves a healthy and pain-free smile so they can truly thrive,” said Rob Goren, president and CEO at Delta Dental of Missouri. “We are excited to partner with the Community Foundation of the Ozarks to support more than a dozen organizations and help children get vital dental care to improve their overall health, quality of life and self-esteem.”
“We appreciate Delta Dental of Missouri’s generous support for this program,” said Ashley Fleming, grant program officer for the CFO. “The dental care, education and supplies provided by these agencies will help thousands of rural students across our region achieve healthier outcomes.”
Delta Dental of Missouri is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization. According to its officials, it provides more than 2.1 million members with access to affordable, high-quality dental care through group plans tailored to meet the needs of organizations of all sizes, from large corporations to small businesses with two or more employees. Delta Dental also offers dental benefit plans directly to individuals and families, and provides access to affordable, high-quality vision care through group vision benefit plans. The company aims to supports oral health initiatives, educational programs and charitable causes that help educate people about the importance of dental health and provide free dental care to those in need.
Founded in 1973, the Community Foundation of the Ozarks marked its 50th anniversary in 2023 as the region’s largest public charitable foundation serving a network of donors, 54 regional affiliate foundations and nonprofit partners across central and southern Missouri through its mission of resource development, community grantmaking, collaboration and public leadership.
