SANFORD - Lee County Public Health, in collaboration with CentralrnCarolina Community College, will receive a $250,505 grant from The DukernEndowment, Health Director Michael Hanes said Friday. Endowment boardrnmembers met June 6th to consider this year's funding proposals andrnchose the Central Carolina Dental Center among their grant recipients.rnThe Dental Center is a collaborative project that will combine dentalrnservices for low-income populations with community college training ofrndental hygienists and dental assistants.
"Wernare being more successful together than we would be apart," Hanes said,rnreferring to the combined grant-seeking efforts of his organization andrnthe college. "The collaboration is making it possible for us to joinrnhands and contribute more to this community."
Inrn1999, Lee County Public Health established a Children's Dental CarernProgram with funding assistance from the Kate B. Reynolds CharitablernTrust. The program quickly reached capacity, providing approximatelyrn2,000 oral health services each year to low-income children from Leernand Chatham counties. "In our current facility, we simply could notrnexpand, but the need just kept growing, so we started looking atrnmoving."
When Hanes learned about BrickrnCapital Community Development Corporation's plans to renovate thernhistoric W. B. Wicker School, he saw an opportunity to expand publicrndental services. At the same time, community college officials werernsearching for an appropriate location for their new curriculum programsrnin Dental Hygiene and Dental Assisting.
"Itrnwas a match made in heaven," Hanes says. "With this grant from The DukernEndowment, and the other grants the College has just received, we arerngoing to be able to reach so many more people who are simply unable tornafford private dental care." By sharing equipment, space, and manpowerrnat the Central Carolina Dental Center, and offering services tornpatients of any age and from surrounding counties, Hanes expects tornprovide over 5,000 oral health services per year by 2008 to low-incomernpopulations.
The Duke Endowment is arnprivate foundation established in 1924 by industrialist andrnphilanthropist James B. Duke. The Endowment's mission is to serve thernpeople of North Carolina and South Carolina by supporting selectedrnprograms of higher education, health care, children's welfare, andrnspiritual life.