The UW Timothy A. DeRouen Center for Global Oral Health hosted its first ever Global Oral Health Awareness Fundraiser Breakfast on Aug 29th, 2019 at the UW Botanic Gardens. The Fundraiser Breakfast was an opportunity for the DeRouen Center to advocate for global oral health and to share the Center’s work with a diverse audience of students and professionals. This event was the kick-off of our yearlong #GlobalOralHealthAwareness campaign.
The breakfast started with a welcome from School of Dentistry Dean Gary Chiodo. Derouen Center Director Dr. Ana Lucia Seminario then introduced the four global sites and shared the Center’s mission and values. These introductions were followed by speeches from our amazing guest speakers, Representative Marcus Riccelli of the Washington State House of Representatives and Dr. Jean Kagubare of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Representative Riccelli spoke about initiatives in Washington State related to oral health, and Dr. Kagubare described the economic impact of health policy with case of Rwanda. The speeches were followed by a brief panel session where attendees could ask questions in person or via livestream.
Over 100 guests from various health organizations and UW departments attended our event. Organizations represented included the University of Washington School of Dentistry, the Washington State Department of Health, Seamar Community Clinics, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the International Community Health Services, the Oral Cancer Walk Foundation, Hospital la Familia, and more. Our livestream videos reached out over 1,600 people around the world!
We received generous contributions that will be used to support our mission: to improve quality of life by promoting collaboration and inclusivity in oral and craniofacial research that impacts global health. The donations will be put towards research and education across our sites in Kenya, Peru, Seattle, and Thailand.
The Timothy A. DeRouen Center for Global Oral Health is excited for more events in the future to advocate for global oral health and to continue our #GlobalOralHealthAwareness campaign!
To keep up with our projects and upcoming events, follow us on Facebook. Photos and an archived video of the event can also be viewed on our Facebook page.
It is easy to be an advocate for global oral health. Contributions to the #GlobalOralHealthAwareness campaign can be made online.