Community Involvement
Our members take enormous pride in giving back to the communities that support our practices, our dentists, and ultimately our families.
Here is a growing list of charities and events MAWD members have taken an active role in:
Jonestown Oral Health Project
MAWD would like to congratulate a group of distinguished Mississippi dentists--many of whom are MAWD members--for their outstanding public service in the creation of the Jonestown Oral Health Project. Jonestown is a community in the Mississippi Delta located about ten miles Northeast of Clarksdale. The vision and mission of the Jonestown Oral Health Project is to collaborate with public and private volunteers to provide oral health resources to the citizens of Jonestown and to other communities across Mississippi. The primary objectives are to bring accessible, affordable oral health care to Jonestown and to leverage resources to help bring other health services to Jonestown too. There is currently no dentist located in Jonestown – the nearest dental care is ten miles away in Clarksdale.
Dr. Eleanor Gill and Dr. Karen Crews, both MAWD members, spearheaded this community service effort in 2009, along with Jackson dentists Shelley Segrest Taylor, Carla Cole, Alicia Hawthorne and Nick Mosca, Tupelo dentists Mindy Austin and Beth Shelton and Cleveland dentists Raanne Tindle and Robert Ragan. Their goal is to not only volunteer their oral health services but also to leverage resources to help bring other health services to Jonestown. In addition, a number of dental hygienists from the Department of Health Natasha Bennett, Lethea Jackson, Kimberly Malloy and Marsha Parker all work with the project.
The project is an ongoing effort – Drs. Gill and Crews recently received a grant from the North Mississippi Community Foundation to continue the project into 2013.
Congratulations to all the volunteers for their generous spirit in giving back to the community.
