Dental clinic gets $27,000 grant
BANGOR, Maine — Ronald McDonald House Charities of Maine presented a grant check of $27,150 recently to the St. Apollonia Dental Clinic of Presque Isle during the Maine McDonald’s High School Senior All-Star Basketball Games at Husson University.
Robin Chibroski, executive director of RMHC of Maine, and local McDonald’s owner/operator Gary Eckmann presented the check to clinic founder Norma Desjardins, DMD.
The grant was one of five totaling $80,000 that RMHC of Maine awarded in 2015 to organizations providing oral health care to children. The funds are estimated to impact more than 7,500 children in southern, central, midcoast and northern Maine.
The nonprofit St. Apollonia Dental Clinic was founded five years ago after Desjardins learned of the high number of children in Aroostook County with untreated tooth decay. Today, the clinic has a full-time pediatric dentist, two certified dental assistants and two registered dental hygienists.
“The team at St. Apollonia strive to create a positive dental experience for each child,” said Chibroski. “In addition to oral hygiene instruction, children and their parents learn about nutrition and preventing further decay from occurring.”
The annual Maine McDonald’s High School Senior All-Star Basketball Games are a major fundraiser for RMHC of Maine. Last year’s All-Star Weekend raised more than $32,000.00 for the charity.
Since its founding in 1998, RMHC of Maine has granted more than $3 million to more than 250 nonprofit organizations that positively impact the health and well-being of children and families in Maine and eastern New Hampshire.
More information is available at www.rmhcmaine.org.
