Coachella Valley Spotlight: Local Organization Offers Free Dental Services to Developmentally Disabled

The following was submitted for publication on behalf of the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation: 

Desert Friends of the Developmentally Disabled (DFDD) plans to offer more services to its clients, after receiving a $25,000 Coachella Valley Spotlight grant from the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation.

More than 800 clients are served through the organization’s We Care Dental Center, which utilizes volunteer dentists, dental hygienists and dental assistants to provide free services to developmentally disabled children and adults as well as low-cost services to seniors and veterans on fixed incomes.
 
“Recently, we expanded our mission to include seniors and veterans, because they face similar challenges with dental care as our developmentally disabled clients,” said Marianne Benson, Founder of DFDD. “Many people do not realize how connected dental hygiene is to the rest of a person’s health. We are very grateful to the Berger Foundation for recognizing this need and to CBS for giving us the exposure that can be difficult for an organization to acquire on its own.”
 
With the grant funds DFDD plans to expand its services to include more clients, provide oral hygiene seminars, and launch a sealant program for children in special education programs throughout the Coachella Valley. The sealant program will be administered by students attending Western University of Health Sciences College of Dental Medicine. Students from Western University as well as Milan Institute and Kaplan College often complete externships at We Care Dental Center.
 
“We appreciate what DFDD is doing for people in our valley,” said Catharine Reed Senior Program Officer for the H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation. “They identified a need, and found ways to fill it. They also found partners, like the dental schools, which shows a real commitment to benefitting the greater good.”

 Desert Friends of the Developmentally Disabled was featured on CBS Local 2’s “Eye on the Desert” as well as in public service announcements and on the www.cbslocal2.com website throughout the month of May.
 
“It gives us great satisfaction to help get the word out about valuable programs such as those being offered by Desert Friends of the Developmentally Disabled. They are the only organization like it in Riverside County,” said Mike Stutz, General Manager of Gulf California Broadcast Company, which owns and operates CBS Local 2.
 
For more information about DFDD, visit www.dfddnow.org or call 760-832-6555.