GSDM Volunteers Contribute 732 Hours During 2017 Global Days of Service!
During 2017’s Global Days of Service (which wrapped up on May 10, 2017), 210 students, residents, faculty, staff and family from the Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) volunteered a total of 731.75 hours at several different community service locations throughout Boston.
Boston University’s Global Days of Service is an approximately one-month-long annual event that allows alumni, students, residents, faculty, staff, and friends from all areas of the Boston University network to give back to their local, national, and international communities.
Members of the GSDM community served their 732 volunteer hours at 19 different service events across Boston, helping to make this year’s Global Days of Service a huge success. A total of 210 GSDM community members participated, with many volunteers attending more than one event.
In her role as Oral Health Promotion Director in GSDM’s Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research, Ms. Kathy Lituri served a crucial role in the planning and coordination of most of the events. Ms. Lituri worked with Stacey McNamee, Director of Alumni Relations & Annual Giving and Sheree Norquist, Program Administrator, to plan the events.
“I am so proud to be Dean of an institution comprised of so many students, residents, faculty, and staff members who are engaged in and committed to our community,” said Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter. “I would like to thank all who volunteered with a special thank you to Ms. Lituri, Ms. McNamee, and Ms. Norquist for their tireless dedication to making sure all these events were successful.”
Ms. Lituri said she is grateful for all the volunteers, even those who may have simply volunteered on their own time during Global Days of Service.
Photos from the Global Month of Service can be found on Facebook.
Notre Dame Education Center
On March 29 – 30, 2017, GSDM volunteers served at the Notre Dame Education Center in Boston.
The volunteers offered oral health promotion and dental screenings to the patrons of the education center.
The Notre Dame Education Center is a comprehensive adult education center located in Boston. The Center provides a diverse, caring community in which students are empowered to develop their full potential as scholars, workers, and citizens.
Volunteers:
March 29, 2017
Student volunteers: Kimiya Abtahi DMD 19, Amanda Alon DMD 18, Bakr Amin DMD 18, Laura Daza DMD 20, Debbie Desravines DMD 17, Alex Lopes DMD 19, Katie Quan DMD 19, Sarah Satin DMD 19, and Chris Unger DMD 17.
Faculty and staff volunteers: Kathy Lituri, Oral Health Promotion Director, and Dr. Gladys Carrasco, Clinical Instructor in the Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research.
Preceptorship volunteers: Paridhi Gupta, and Shaina Uppal.
March 30, 2017
Student volunteers: Ruchi Ahuja AS 18, Diala Chahine DMD 17, Xiapeng Hu AS 18, Mathew Jones DMD 18, Srujana Kraleti AS 18, Alex Lopez DMD 19, Jayesh Patel DMD 18, Chris Unger DMD 17, and Garrett Wingrove DMD 17.
Faculty and staff volunteers: Kathy Lituri, Oral Health Promotion Director; and Dr. Mohammad Mourad, Clinical Instructor in the Department of Global & Population Health.
Preceptorship volunteers: Samidha Rajora, and Aishwarya Subramanian.
The Mexican Consulate
On April 1, 2017 and April 29, 2017, the GSDM community volunteered at the Mexican Consulate in Boston during a program known as “Ventanilla de Salud.” The first program was held in Boston, while the second event took place in Manchester, New Hampshire.
The Mexican Consulate in Boston started a free program called “Ventanilla de Salud” designed to help people identify the health services available around the area where they live, and also provide them with information and education on a variety of health topics. The main goal is to help prevent diseases, to promote healthy habits, and to establish a direct referral to the community health centers so people can establish a medical home and receive the medical attention that they need. GSDM was there for the oral health promotion component of the program.
April 1, 2017
Faculty volunteer: Dr. Gladys Carrasco, Clinical Instructor in the Department of Health Policy & Health Services.
April 29, 2017
Student volunteer: Nicholas Capezio DMD 18, and Victoria Ramos (predental).
Faculty and staff volunteers: Jobina Cabrera, Research Dental Assistant; Kathy Lituri, Oral Health Promotion Director; and Dr. Gladys Carrasco, Clinical Instructor in the Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research.
Greater Boston Food Bank
On April 5, 10, 11, 19, 20, 22, and 29, 2017; and May 3, and 10, 2017; students, faculty members, and staff from GSDM gathered at the Greater Boston Food Bank to help provide food to Boston residents in need.
During the nine visits, the volunteers were tasked with sorting and packing donated grocery products that were then distributed to hunger relief agencies. Some volunteers loaded boxes onto conveyer belts, while the other volunteers inspected products, sorted products, and checked and labeled boxes.
The Greater Boston Food Bank’s mission is to end hunger in eastern Massachusetts. The organization distributed 54 million pounds of food in 2015, enough for more than 42 million meals.
Volunteers:
April 5, 2017:
Student volunteers: Diala Chahine DMD 17, Alex Lopez DMD 19, and Jordan Nosis DMD 20.
Faculty and staff volunteers: Andy Burke, Director of Facilities & Operations; Patty Delorey, Clinic Coordinator; Diane Dougherty, Administrative Assistant for Meetings & Events; Kathy Lituri, Oral Health Promotion Director; Barbara McKenna, Clinic & Administrative Manager; Katie O’Shea, Alumni Officer; Maryellen Sholes, Dental Radiology Technologist; and Moaz Zanbarakji, Research Dental Assistant.
Other volunteers: Rama Karkoukli.
April 10, 2017:
Student and resident volunteers: Aziz Abdulwahed ENDO 18, Mona Alenzi ENDO 18, Adam Becker ENDO 18, Saitah Bufersen ENDO 18, Irene Fernandes ENDO 18, Babar Saleem ENDO 18, Chandini Shaikh DMD 19, and Joyce Sun ENDO 18.
Faculty and staff volunteers: Dr. Sami Chogle, Director of the Advanced Specialty Education Program in Endodontics; Dr. Tun-yi Hsu, Clinical Director of the Advanced Specialty Education Program in Endodontics; Eda Kerthie, Clinic Coordinator, Endodontics; Kathy Lituri, Oral Health Promotion Director; and Barbara McKenna, Clinic & Administrative Manager.
Other volunteer: Eric Martin.
April 11, 2017:
Staff volunteers: Kara Boucher, Manager, Faculty & Staff Administration; Lisa Collins, Program Administrator; Diane Dougherty, Administrative Assistant for Meetings & Events; Greer Lemnah, Communications Specialist; Wendy Mejia, Sterilization Assistant; AnnMarie McCluskey, Grants/Program Coordinator; Stacey McNamee, Director of Alumni Relations & Annual Giving; Catherine Mirarchi, Administrative Coordinator; Alex Singer, Graphic Designer; Karen Stahl, Director of Communications & External Relations; and Kirby Williams, Assistant Director of Communications & Marketing.
April 19, 2017:
Student and resident volunteers: Lindsay Albino DMD 19, Stephen Brand DMD 19, Jessica Collins DMD 19, Alexandra Fili DMD 19, Marla Fleming DMD 19, Alex Foor DMD 19, Brie Gresh DMD 19, Delaney Jorgensen DMD 18, Divya Puri DMD 19, Katie Quan DMD 19, Sarah Satin DMD 19, Anisha Uppal DMD 19, and Samuel Ustayev DMD 19.
April 20, 2017: (Open to BU community)
Student and resident volunteers: Jassim Al-Abdulla PERIO 19, Stephanie Brooks DMD 18, Kai-Jen Chiu PERIO 19, Trevor Mitsuki PERIO 19, and Chung-Han Yu PERIO 19.
Faculty and staff volunteers: Samuel Boadu Jr., Financial and Grants Administrator; Dr. Corinna Culler, Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research Director; Julia Huntsman, Proposal Development Associate; Kathy Lituri, Oral Health Promotion Director; Kate Petcosky-Kulkarni, Director of the Office of Proposal Development; Wanda Roberts, Administrative Assistant; and Amanda Tan, Proposal Development Associate.
Other volunteer: Dee Devlin, Frederic Majnoun, Ellen Mills, and Lily Mills.
April 22, 2017:
Student and resident volunteers: Ruchi Ahuja AS 18, Nujud Alamry PERIO, Shahil Amin DMD 20, Melissa Anderson DMD 19, Amanda Harr DMD 19, Ray Kuo DMD 20, Harry Lee DMD 17, Gary Li DMD 20, Wendy Wenyu Qu DMD 17, Joanna Song DMD 17, Khanti Tjiang DMD 18, Tianchi Tu DMD 19, Justine Yeung DMD 19, Bowen Zhou DMD 19, and Nouf Zimmo PERIO.
Other volunteers: Samara Aoun, and Robert Robinson.
April 29, 2017:
Student volunteers: Christine Chiao DMD 19, Nabi Faraz AS 18, Hazeka Kadri AS 18, Lindsey Janof DMD 19, Sasha Manchanda DMD 18, Jethani Mohi AS 18, Mike Nardi DMD 18, Jayesh Patel DMD 18, and Jignesh Rudani AS 17.
Faculty volunteer: Carmen Garcia, Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of General Dentistry.
Other volunteers: Chris Kim.
May 3, 2017:
Student volunteers: Steve Prieve DMD 18, and Jayesh Patel DMD 18.
Faculty volunteers: Kathy Lituri, Oral Health Promotion Director.
Other volunteers: Samara Aoun, Claudia Gibson, Chris Kim, Emily Pipilas, Christian Letizia, and Hung Nguyen.
May 10, 2017:
Student volunteers: Nicole Buzzi DMD 19, Laura Callan DMD 20, Kerin Gustafson DMD 20, Grace Hannawi DMD 17, Haley Harris DMD 20, Jasmine Khedkar AS 17, and Jessica Riccobono DMD 19.
Faculty volunteers: Dr. Pelly Chang, Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of General Dentistry; Dr. Simran Grover, Clinical Instructor in the Department of General Dentistry; Dr. Roxana Hashemian, Clinical Instructor in the Department of General Dentistry; Dr. Kady Rawal, Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Restorative Sciences & Biomaterials; and Dr. Ronni Schnell, Clinical Professor in the Department of General Dentistry.
Other volunteer: Dr. Peach Dore-Tyrell, Bobby Guliani, Dr. Mary-Jane Hanlon, and Dr. Janis Moriarty.
Boys and Girls Club
On April 12, 2017, the GSDM chapter of the American Student Dental Association (ASDA) provided free, interactive dental education to approximately 200 children between the ages of 7 and 12 at the Yawkey Club of Roxbury, a Boys and Girls Club in Boston.
The GSDM chapter of ASDA works with the Office of Global and Population Health to host the Passport to a Healthy Smile event each year as part of Give Kids a Smile, a nationwide initiative co-sponsored by the American Dental Association (ADA).
The ADA launched the Give Kids a Smile program nationally in 2003 as a way for dentists across the country to join with others in their community to promote oral health and/or provide dental services to underserved children.
At the April event, children visited six dental themed tables with their “passport” to learn about proper brushing and flossing; healthy eating; tooth protection such as mouth guards, fluoride, and sealants; smoking and oral piercing; and careers in dental medicine. In addition, the children had the opportunity to learn about dinosaur teeth (meat eaters and plant eaters) and decorate a bookmark and tooth necklace. Once their passport was filled they received a goody bag with a toothbrush and toothpaste.
Volunteers:
Student volunteers: Padideh Alizadeh AS 18, Amanda Alon DMD 18, Bakr Amin DMD 18, Robert Baldi DMD 19, Stephanie Bont DMD 20, Ashely Brumell DMD 20, Laura Callan DMD 20, Christine Chiao DMD 19, Gagan Dhaliwal DMD 19, Charles Lewis DMD 18, Alex Lopez DMD 19, Shawn Mathew DMD 20, Marina Makael DMD 20, Gregory Nielsen DMD 20, Taylor Paek DMD 20, Steve Prieve DMD 18, and Asia Yip DMD 19.
Faculty and staff volunteers: Dee Devlin, Clinical Instructor in the Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research; and Kathy Lituri, Oral Health Promotion Director.
Other volunteers: Emily Pipilas.
Rosie’s Place
On April 14, 2017, GSDM volunteers served at Rosie’s Place, a sanctuary for homeless, battered and displaced women in the South End of Boston.
The volunteers answered oral health related questions, distributed home care products, and offered dental screenings and related advice
This program, which sees students volunteer at Rosie’s Place on a monthly basis, strives to assess and address the oral health needs of the women that seek services at Rosie’s Place.
Volunteers:
Student volunteers: Chetan Agarwal AS 18, Anusha Chintala AS 18, Sara Elashaal DMD 17, Alexandra Fili DMD 19, Julia Hadley DMD 18, Shadi Haidar DMD 17, Grace Hannawi DMD 17, Mike Navy DMD 17, and Sukhpreet Rana AS 18.
Faculty and staff volunteers: Dr. Lina Bensilmane, Clinical Instructor in the Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research; Dr. Pelly Chang, Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of General Dentistry; Ms. Kathy Held, Director of Global Iniatives; Kathy Lituri, Oral Health Promotion Director; and Dr. Kady Rawal, Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Restorative Sciences & Biomaterials.
Other volunteers: Ivana Chtay, Aryanna Pina, and Paula Pina.
Pine Street Inn
On April 18, 2017, members of the GSDM community visited the Pine Street Inn on Harrison Avenue, close to our home at 100 East Newton Street.
Founded in 1969, Pine Street Inn serves more than 1,600 homeless individuals daily and 9,500 annually, providing the full spectrum of services to help men and women reach their highest level of independence and get back to a place they can call home.
Volunteers:
Faculty and staff volunteers: Jobina Cabrera, Research Project Assistant; Gloria Calderon, Research Dental Assistant; Dr. Gladys Carrasco, Clinical Instructor in the Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research; Dee Devlin, Clinical Instructor in the Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research; Sara Hassan, Research Dental Assistant; Mohammad Mourad, Clinical Instructor in the Department of Global & Population Health; Paula Pina, School Based Program Coordinator; Adlin Pinheiro, Program Coordinator; Mahesh Vasudevan, Research Dental Assistant; and Moaz Zanbarakji, Research Dental Assistant.
Cradles to Crayons (Open to BU community)
On April 26, 2017, members of the GSDM community volunteered with the nonprofit Cradles to Crayons at the organization’s headquarters in Brighton.
The volunteers received an introduction to Cradles to Crayons before being assigned to project areas where they worked with a Cradles to Crayons staff member on projects that would benefit the organization’s various programs.
Cradles to Crayons provides children from birth through age 12 living in homeless or low-income situations with the essential items they need to thrive—at home, at school and at play. Items are supplied free of charge by engaging and connecting communities that have items with communities that need them.
Volunteers:
Student volunteers: Shilpa Agarwal AS 17, and her seven-year-old, Suhani Agarwal; Jayesh Patel DMD 18, and Sasha Manchanda DMD 18.
Faculty and staff volunteers: Dr. Antoine Hraiz, Clinical Instructor in the Department of General Dentistry; Dr. Carmen Garcia, Clinical Professor in the Department of General Dentistry; and Paula Pina, School Based Program Coordinator, Kathy Held, Kathy Lituri, Dr. Astha Singhal, Dr. Liz Kaye, Ana Keohane, Dr. Celeste Kong, Dr. Pelly Chang,
Other volunteers: Samara Aoun, Meagan Bernatchez, and Michael Bernatchez. Mike Keohane, Alexis Keohane, Emma Keohane, Aryanna Pina, Ivana Chatay, Katalin Brown, Cindy Jo Gross, Tennyson Hunt, Elaine Lee, Laryssa Malinouskaya, Amy Nelson, Ana Maria Ramirez, Chelsea Rathbun, Lena Rybak, Katie Stocking, Margaret schadelbaurer..see list beloiw
Charles River Cleanup
On April 29, 2017, six GSDM community members from the Dental Health Center at 930 Commonwealth Avenue volunteered at the Charles River Clean up.
The volunteers were: Amanda Barber; Helen Flagg; Netsanet Gebreyes and her two children; and Alicia Petrin.
Relay for Life
On April 22, 2017, nearly 20 GSDM students, faculty, and staff volunteered at the Relay for Life, held at the Track and Tennis Center on the Charles River Campus.
Relay For Life is the signature fundraiser for the American Cancer Society as it is staffed and coordinated by volunteers in more than 5,200 communities and 27 countries.
Volunteers:
Student volunteers: Amanda Alon DMD 18, Diala Chahine DMD 17, Christine Chiao DMD 19, Scott Jegard DMD 18, Alex Lopez DMD 19, Jayesh Patel DMD 18, and Katie Quan DMD 19.
Faculty volunteers: Dr. Joseph Calabrese, Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Geriatric Dental Medicine; Ana Keohane, Clinical Associate in the Department of General Dentistry; Dr. Thomas Kilgore, Professor in the Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery; Dr. Bing Liu, Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of General Dentistry and President of the GSDM Alumni Association; Stacey McNamee, Director of Alumni Relations & Annual Giving; and Dr. Tina Valdes, Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of General Dentistry.
Other volunteers: Michele Calabrese, Johnny Gonzalez, Emma Keohane, Sophia Keohane, and Ralph Tullberg.