GSDM Lends a Hand at 2015 Christmas in the City
On Sunday December 20, 2015, a total of 24 members of the Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) community volunteered at the 2015 Christmas in the City event, which was held at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. This is the fourth consecutive year that GSDM community members have volunteered at the Christmas in the City event.
Christmas in the City is an annual event that has been providing mothers and children from homeless shelters in the Boston area a place to celebrate Christmas together and for the children to all receive presents from their wish list. Christmas in the City began 27 years ago after local residents Jake and Sparky Kennedy brainstormed ways to help engage their children with the spirit of giving during Christmas. The Kennedys wanted to provide a platform for their children to give gifts instead of just receiving them.
The first Christmas in the City event planned by the Kennedys was attended by 165 mothers and children living in homeless shelters in the Boston area. The event has since grown; Christmas in the City is currently attended by nearly 4,000 mothers and children and is staffed by nearly 3,000 volunteers.
“We found 165 children 27 years ago and decided not just to give them a present, but give them the present from their wish list,” event co-founder Jake Kennedy said in a December 17 WBZ NewsRadio 1030 online article. “Through volunteers coming out of the woodwork, it has just grown and grown.”
The 2015 Christmas in the City event at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center featured a banquet, live entertainment, a Winter Wonderland with games, rides, a petting zoo, and kid friendly activities. Each child also received a personalized gift from Santa that was from the child’s wish list.
The 24 GSDM volunteers—13 students, nine faculty members, and two friends of GSDM—set up eight tables for dental screenings at which children could stop by at any time for a free dental screening from one of the GSDM volunteers. Several tables were also set up with interactive activities for the children, such as tooth necklace making, puppet tooth brushing, healthy food activities, and more.
“This was the fourth year in a row that GSDM volunteered at the Christmas in the City event, and from my experience the event was once again a great success, with the GSDM volunteers engaging hundreds of children about the importance of good oral health,” said Clinical Instructor in the Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research and Oral Health Promotion Director Ms. Kathy Lituri.
When the event ended, the GSDM volunteers had screened 34 people and interacted with hundreds more at the various tables set up by GSDM volunteers.
“I would like to thank all the GSDM community members who took time out of their busy schedules to volunteer at the 2015 Christmas in the City event,” said Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter. “By all accounts, the 2015 event was a great success, and allowed GSDM volunteers to promote oral health to those in need.”
Student volunteers
Caroline Adams DMD 18; Amanda Alon DMD 18; Vibha Babbar AS 17; John Costello DMD 16; Kayla Cuddy DMD 16; Amanda Harr DMD 19; Anthony Kofoworola-Kuti AS 16; Andrea Lam DMD 16; Andrea Ling AS 16; Jayesh Patel DMD 18; Chandini Shaikh DMD 19; Indu Yadaz AS 17; and Ahmad Al Najjar DMD 16.
Faculty volunteers
Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of General Dentistry Pelly Chang; Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of General Dentistry Elinor Alon Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of General Dentistry Mohammad Golparvar; Clinical Instructor in the Department of General Dentistry Roxana Hashemian; Director of Global Initiatives Assistant Professor in the Department of General Dentistry Kathy Held; Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of General Dentistry Steve Karpas; Clinical Instructor in the Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research and Oral Health Promotion Director Kathy Lituri; Clinical Instructor in the Department of Global & Population Health Mohammad Mourad; and Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of General Dentistry Samira Sheikh.
Other GSDM community volunteers
Deyar Dashti and Moaz Zanbarakji.
Photos from the 2015 Christmas in the City event can be found on Facebook and Flickr.