text: Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation awards over $260,000 to improve children’s oral health
  19 Illinois organizations receive 2024 Community Grants
  NAPERVILLE, Ill. (Nov. 19, 2024) – Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation, the 501(c)(3) charitable arm of Delta Dental of Illinois, awarded over $260,000 to 19 nonprofit and community organizations through its annual Community Grants Program. Each organization shares the Foundation’s mission of improving health and well-being throughout Illinois, especially for children.
  “We believe all children in Illinois deserve access to quality, comprehensive health care,” says Lora Vitek, executive director of the Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation. “Oral health care is vital to overall well-being. We are eliminating barriers to care and improving the health of thousands of Illinois children through our Community Grants Program and partnerships with organizations statewide.”
  Since 2012, Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation’s Community Grants Program has provided more than $2 million to support organizations that help increase access to oral health care and education. The following organizations are Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation’s 2024 Community Grants Program recipients:
  Cats Care, Hanover
  Cats Care provides services to the communities in Hanover, Elizabeth and Jo Daviess counties. Cats Care will use the funding to bring a dental program to River Ridge School and provide students with exams, cleanings and restorative care.
  Champaign Urbana Public Health District, Champaign
  The Public Health District will use funding to pilot a project implementing the application of silver diamine fluoride (SDF) in their school-based dental program and increase knowledge of SDF among school nurses.
  Clay County Health Department, Flora
  Clay County Health Department will use funding for its public health educator to attend community events and provide oral health education and awareness. Funding will also support its mobile dental units and professional partners to provide free preventive dental care to the community.
  Douglas County Health Department, Tuscola
  Douglas County Health Department will use funds to upgrade equipment in a treatment room in its dental clinic. This will reduce wait times, allowing more children to continue to receive services and improve their oral health and overall wellness.
  Effingham County Health Department, Effingham
  Funding will be used to support a community health educator who will provide community outreach and education in Effingham County. Funding will also help support its mobile dental units and professional partners in providing free fluoride treatments, cleanings and SDF to those who qualify.
  Erie Family Health Centers, Waukegan
  Funding will support staff at the Erie HealthReach Waukegan clinic as they provide high-quality, comprehensive oral health care to children, as well as oral health education to both the children and their caregivers.
  Girls in the Game, Bloomington & Chicago
  Girls in the Game Elementary After School program provides after school sessions that include playing sports, learning about healthy lifestyle choices and improving their leadership skills in an all-girl setting. Funding will support both in-person and virtual personal hygiene rotations, which include oral health and hygiene education.
  Health & Medicine Policy Research Group, Chicago
  Run by Health & Medicine Policy Research Group, the Chicago Area Schweitzer Fellowship is a yearlong service-learning program for graduate students in health professions, including dentistry. Funding will support two dental student fellows focused on improving children’s oral health in underserved communities in Illinois. Fellows dedicate 200 service hours to community-based organizations, where they design and implement projects that address critical oral health needs as a result of Illinois health care shortages. Fellows will provide education, direct services and innovative solutions to improve access to care.
  Henderson County Rural Health Center (dba Eagle View Community Health Center), Oquawka
  This project aims to improve diagnostic capabilities for children by upgrading essential equipment to ensure accurate and efficient X-ray services, as well as increase the number of children who receive these services. Funding will be used to replace dysfunctional X-ray sensors, which are critical for obtaining clear and reliable images, and to purchase a Nomad handheld X-ray device. These upgrades will also increase the center’s ability to administer X-rays in nontraditional settings, such as schools.
  IWS Family Health, Chicago
  Funding will help cultivate a dental home for children in communities with a high number of individuals living in poverty or with lower incomes. The dental home has seven operatories and an enclosed operatory for children with disabilities. The bicultural and bilingual staff consists of four dentists, a dental hygienist and four expanded-duty dental assistants. They use a family-centered, accessible approach to care throughout the organization and within the dental home.
  Macon County Health Department, Decatur
  Macon County Dental Clinic is a small but vital health care provider in its community, staffed by one dentist, one office manager, three dental assistants and one receptionist. Funding will enable Macon County Dental Clinic to maintain its current workforce, ensuring they can continue meeting the oral health needs of our community.
  McDonough County Health Department, Macomb
  Funding will support the expansion of the McDonough County Health Department’s oral health program by offering fluoride varnish to WIC (women, infant and children) clients as an additional preventive measure. The department will also create a case management program to help children in need of extensive dental treatment navigate care.
  Milestone Dental Clinic, Rockford
  The goal of Milestone Dental Clinic is to develop an individualized treatment plan for patients with development disabilities to meet the specific needs of each patient. Funding will help cover the cost of oral exams, cleanings and fluoride treatments for patients with no ability to pay or who are not covered by insurance or Illinois Medicaid.
  MobileCare’s Mobile Dental Program serves as the largest mobile oral health provider in Cook County and beyond, extending its reach as far south as Chicago Heights and as far north as Waukegan. Funding will enable clinic staff to continue to provide comprehensive oral health services.
  Northwest Community Hospital Mobile Dental Clinic, Arlington Heights
  Northwest Community Hospital’s mobile dental clinic operates four to five days per week and offers an array of preventive and restorative dental services to adults and children in the northwest suburbs. Funding will support dental services at District 214’s Specialized Schools, which are comprised of six programs designed to meet the needs of unique learners.
  Oak Park River Forest Infant Welfare Society (IWS), Oak Park
  Funding will support the IWS Children's Clinic efforts to provide a dental home for patients through comprehensive care, oral health education, behavioral health screenings and a portable dentistry program in schools.
  PrimeCare Community Health, Chicago
  PrimeCare will use funding to increase access to oral health care for children on Chicago’s West Side. Its Dental Program provides a wide range of care to children, including preventive oral health care, oral health education and personalized treatment plans.
  Riverbend Head Start and Family Services, Alton
  Riverbend Head Start and Family Services’ Oral Health Education and Access Project provides access to oral health services for at-risk children under the age of five, including oral health education for children and their caregivers. Funding will support dental screenings, treatments and surgeries for families who may otherwise not receive care.
  Well Child Center, Elgin
  Funding will support The Well Child Center’s Pediatric Dental Clinic and First Tooth Visit Program to provide comprehensive oral health care services and education for low‐income children at low‐ or no‐cost.
  The next Community Grants Program application cycle is tentatively scheduled for late summer 2025. For more information on the Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation Community Grants Program, visit deltadentalil.com/community-grants.
  About Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation
  Delta Dental is the national dental benefits leader covering 1 in 3 Americans who have dental coverage. Delta Dental of Illinois is one of 39 member companies that make up the national Delta Dental system. Based in Naperville, Illinois, Delta Dental of Illinois provides dental benefit programs to more than 6,500 Illinois companies and covers 2 million individuals, employees and family members nationwide. Delta Dental of Illinois is committed to improving health and well-being in our community and furthers this commitment through the work of its 501(c)(3) charitable arm, Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation. In the past decade, combined efforts of Delta Dental of Illinois and Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation have provided more than $32 million to programs and organizations in Illinois that improve the oral health of the state’s residents. For additional information, visit deltadentalil.com/ddilfoundation.