In 2013 alone, CareCredit’s Caring Communities Program has provided more than $200,000 in grants to organizations in five healthcare professions to help low-to-moderate income households in the United States obtain necessary care that might not otherwise be received.
On the dentistry front, CareCredit continued its 6-year commitment to the American Dental Association (ADA) Foundation Give Kids A Smile program, helping fund dental education, screening, and treatment events across the country for school-aged children. Most recently, the company sponsored an event at Giddings S. Lewis Elementary School in Birmingham, Ala. This was the fourth elementary school education event sponsored in 2013 with CareCredit’s annual $100,000 donation to ADA Foundation.
Lewis Elementary is a Title 1 school serving 275 students in grades Pre-K through 5. The event featured the 2min2x campaign created by the Ad Council, which educates children on the importance of oral health and encourages them to spend two minutes brushing their teeth, two times a day. The participating students also received free toothbrush kits. Communities and organizations can learn more about 2min2x by visiting 2min2x.adcouncil.org.
CareCredit’s Caring Communities Program also provides care in the following fields:
- Optometry: The company supports the American Optometric Association Foundation’s InfantSEE Program to provide vision assessment for infants and children up to age four.
- Hearing Health: CareCredit’s grant to The Miracle Ear Children’s Foundation was used to provide hearing aids and hearing support services for 20 children.
- Veterinary Medicine: CareCredit supports Canine Companions for Independence, enabling more children, and their families, to attend training courses with their assistance dogs.
- Reconstructive Surgery: Two organizations within cosmetic medicine were funded—The FACE TO FACE Fund, which helps victims of domestic violence receive facial reconstructive surgery; and the Plastic Surgery Foundation Breast Reconstruction Awareness (BRA) Fund that enables reconstructive surgery for uninsured or underinsured women as a treatment for breast cancer.
In addition to financial support, CareCredit’s Caring Communities Program organizes employee volunteers. The company’s employees continue to donate time to the Special Olympics, Junior Achievement, as well as a variety of other events. A team of 32 employee volunteers and their family and friends recently walked to raise $7,415 in donations during the Orange County AIDS Walk at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif.
The Caring Communities Program was created to formalize and focus the company’s financial support and employee volunteer activities. “CareCredit’s position as a healthcare credit card has always been to give our providers a way to help more patients access the care they want and need,” explained Cindy Hearn, senior vice president branding and communications. “CareCredit’s Caring Communities Program is another way we’re supporting charities through financial and volunteer contributions, so these organizations can continue the important work they are doing and help more people, including children, access care in the communities they serve.”
