Dear Friends,
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As we turn the corner into fall GDR volunteers are heading off to a slew of programs in Nepal – 3 clinics plus two remote trips – and our final Cambodia trips in November. It has been a productive year and one to celebrate. This year GDR volunteers will serve 19,000 children – a 13% increase in children served!
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Last month we celebrated at the GDR Annual Party – a fun, festive and highly successful event. We so love this gathering of the GDR community every year for a warm, celebratory evening. Thank you!
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Laurie and Kim also met with our wonderful sponsors at Arhaus, spending time with CEO John Reed and speaking to their headquarters staff. Over the past five years this amazing company has sponsored GDR care for over 25,000 children. We are deeply grateful and moved by their dedication to our work – thank you Arhaus! See more on another sponsor, Cranberry USA below.
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And finally, thanks to all of you who joined our spring and summer trips in 2017. Together, you served over 10,000 children in Nepal, Cambodia, Kenya, Guatemala and India bringing many children the first dental care of their young lives!
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With thanks, Kim, Laurie and the GDR Team
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Student Growth Through Volunteering
Many of our volunteers are experienced dental professionals or established career professionals, but what about the great experience to be had by future dentists and global citizens? Volunteering with GDR is the perfect way to give back while learning about yourself and the dental profession.l
GDR Annual Party
What a fun evening had by all at our annual party! Volunteers, donors and sponsors joined together to celebrate the 19,000 children served this year. It was a grand evening of joy, connection and commitment to helping children around the world live healthier lives.
And a special thanks to our party sponsors Brownstein, Hyatt, Farber and Schreck, Law Firm and CTC Associates, Dental Practice Brokers for making this event possible. This work only happens through the committed support of our volunteers, donors and sponsors – hats off to all of you for helping children live brighter healthier lives!
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JOIN US NEXT YEAR!
We set the date for next year’s event early, in hopes that our out of town GDR family can join in the festivities next year. Save September 19, 2018 – come to Colorado, see old friends, meet new ones and spend the evening helping children in need.
Upcoming Clinics
Have the desire to travel and help kids in the near future? Join us now!
- Cambodia February 5-17
- Cambodia February 18-March 4
- Guatemala March 2-11
- Guatemala March 9-18
Planning ahead? Here’s our full schedule.
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Thank you Cranberry USA for all you do serving children globally!
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Global Dental Relief celebrates five years of sponsorship by Cranberry USA! Thank you Cranberry for supplying our volunteers with quality, colorful gloves and underwriting clinics.
This year Cranberry added a new feature to their sponsorship – Cranberry Scholars – giving 5 lucky pre-dental and pre-dental hygiene students $1000 scholarships to join a GDR trip and see their future profession in action. These students add a wonderful young addition to our trips. Thank you Cranberry!
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36 hours in Siem Reap
GDR holds five clinic annually in a small village just outside Siem Reap. Volunteers spend evenings enjoying lively and exotic Siem Reap. We hope you enjoy this video for the New York Times detailing all there is to experience in this fascinating city. And after you watch the video – sign up to join us in Cambodia! You won’t regret it!
Help GDR reach more children
Thanks to Trip Leader Andrea Swenson for hosting a terrific fundraiser at her home in California in late August. If any of you have the time and interest to host either a volunteer party to recruit new folks to GDR or a fundraiser please let Kim know! They are easy and fun events to help us spread the word and we would love to join you for an event!