Dear Friend,
Thank you for being part of the KinderSmile Foundation village! Your continued support helps us invest in our patients and families holistically.
What a weekend we had! This last weekend, November 8th and 9th, we hosted Trenton’s largest community health event of the year, in partnership with RAM (Remote Area Medical), Mercer Street Friends, and MLK Jr. Middle School to bring an impactful FREE two day clinic to New Jersey’s capital. |
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We are truly grateful to YOU, our donors, grantors, volunteers, and friends for being part of the KinderSmile Foundation village. Together, we were able to bring this vision to life, and advance health equity for the community in need!
#ItTakesAVillage With sincere gratitude, |
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Nicole McGrath-Barnes, DDS, FACD Founder & CEO |
| Michal Herman, DDS, FACD COO |
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New Jersey's Groundbreaking RAM Expedition
Hosted by KinderSmile Foundation! ◊ RAM Partnership |
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RAM®, Remote Area Medical, was founded in Tennessee in 1985, as a nonprofit organization that provides free healthcare services through mobile pop-up clinics around the country. RAM’s free clinics deliver quality services and access to care to underserved and uninsured communities. To date, RAM has served nearly 1 million individuals.
The philosophy of RAM includes a conscious effort to bring people together in order to address the health care issues in their communities. Through partnerships with Community Host Groups that recruit dozens of student and professional volunteers, communities are transformed for a healthier future.
Clinics are hosted on a first come first served basis, with no requirement for insurance information or ID. The inspiration for our grand community health event this weekend began at the National Dental Association convention last summer, with the introduction to the incredible work of RAM. |
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We knew immediately that KinderSmile Foundation is in perfect alignment with the services they offer, and we rolled up our sleeves. Our clinic was the first RAM Expedition in New Jersey!
And as every great idea begins with collaboration, we joined forces with Bernie Flynn and Bernadette Trapp from Mercer Street Friends, Principal Victor Farnath at Dr. MLK Jr. Middle School, and Brad Sands and Kaeley Robbins at RAM, to bring this vision to life right in our own backyard. This alliance was the beginning of what shortly became Trenton’s largest community health event of the year.
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◊ Advocacy Efforts
After a full day of set up and preparation, we launched the event on Saturday morning with an exclusive VIP Breakfast in the school library, bringing together legislative stakeholders, community leaders, and passionate oral health champions from across the state of New Jersey. |
We were honored to welcome Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson to deliver the keynote address. Assemblywoman Reynolds-Jackson has been a passionate Oral Health Champion, advocating for increasing access to oral health care in the state of New Jersey. Her powerful remarks reminded attendees that oral health is an essential part of healthcare.
We welcomed Assemblywoman Tennille McCoy, Nashon Hornsby, Assistant Commissioner for the NJ Department of Health Division of Health Promotions, Reva Brennan, CEO of the New Jersey Dental Association, Micah Freeman, Trenton Public Schools Supervisor of Nurses, Dr. Monica Lallo, Senior Vice President of Prevention, Youth and Education Services, Acenda Health, and others. Thank you for your support of oral health equity!
When we come together out of our silos to advocate, educate, and collaborate, we create a future where oral health is a right and not a privilege! |
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◊ Student Volunteers
We strive to lead by example, and mentor the next generation of dental professionals to join Public Health Dentistry and give back in their future careers, leading to a long lasting legacy.
Akin to KinderSmile Foundation’s Community Service Learning Program, RAM Campus Chapters are student-led clubs that address gaps in access to care through volunteering. They provide hands-on experience, and bring hope to underserved communities at the student level.
RAM chapters from NJIT, UMD, Temple University, and Yale volunteered their services in our Trenton expedition. Students from Western Connecticut State University Pre-Dental Society, Rutgers University, and SUNY Stony Brook, and KinderSmile Foundation Community Service Learning Program volunteers joined us as well! A special thank you to Tramina Phan and Jayden Lythcott for leading their teams in service!
Students took an active role in assisting with dental and vision care, providing oral health education, helping with triage, guiding guests to our community resource room, and everything in between! Students embodied the spirit of giving back and a commitment to building a healthier future. They will pay it forward! |
◊ KSF Staff and Board We are grateful for 183 volunteers who registered for NJ’s groundbreaking RAM expedition! Volunteers included students, nurses, EMTs, optometrists, dentists, dental hygienists, dental assistants, professionals, and our very own KinderSmile Foundation Staff and Board members!
Together, we celebrated the community, and renewed our shared commitment to bridging the gap in access to care in our state! Thank you! It truly takes a village and we are fortunate to have this amazing one! |
◊ Community Resources
KinderSmile Foundation was established in the community and for the community. On a daily basis we recognize that underserved families in our community don’t only lack access to dental care, but also face challenges in accessing medical care, vision care, food, shelter, transportation, and knowledge about community resources. Over the weekend, the New Jersey community came together beautifully to offer endless social services and resources!
The same families who lack access to dental care, also lack access to vision care. The same child who may have been labeled as having a learning disability because he was missing his teeth and could not pronounce sounds properly, was perhaps the one who could not see the board to complete his assignment. The same child who had lower school performance because of a toothache he didn’t know how to verbalize, was perhaps the same one who acted frustrated because he was hungry.
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Aside from crucial health care services such as free dentures, dental screenings, eyewear, and vision screenings to Mercer County residents in need, we connected families with wrap-around support services from food, to insurance navigation, discounted laundry services for life, clothes, shoes, coats, reproductive health information, and more!
Our resource tables made essential care and information accessible to families who need it most. Thank you to Mercer Street Friends, United Healthcare Community Plan, Medina Health, NJ Council for Developmental Disabilities, All About You Healthcare Advocates, New Jersey Department of Health, Planned Parenthood, Rutgers Study, SUDS Management, Aetna Better Health of NJ, WIC (Women Infants and Children), and Children’s Home Society Perinatal Integration Model, for supporting our community!
Thank you to TJ Maxx, Marshall’s, New Balance, and Operation Warm for enabling us to set up boutique-style clothing and shoes tables for families. We are grateful to local restaurants such as Big Easy, 1911 Smokehouse, Fabio’s Pizza, Caesar’s bagels, and others for the abundant food donations. |
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◊ Medical Dental Integration
Promotion of community health initiatives with a concentration on prevention are testaments to KinderSmile Foundation’s leadership in Dental Public Health and medical-dental integration in the state!
Advanced Home Diagnostics was one of the resource tables we hosted at the RAM event this weekend. An upcoming partnership in 2026 will establish quarterly A1C and BP testing at each one of our three Dental Homes in Bloomfield, Newark, and Trenton. Community Health Workers will ensure a link to a medical home for all participants. Oral health is the gateway to overall health and wellbeing. Dental providers can often identify precursors to systemic disease and underlying conditions. Maintaining an optimal model of care, KinderSmile Foundation highlights a total body patient-forward approach.
Diabetes and periodontal disease have a strong bidirectional relationship. People with diabetes are at an increased risk of developing periodontal disease, and periodontal disease can worsen diabetes control. Regular dental checkups, oral health education for proper oral hygiene practices, and managing blood sugar levels are essential for preventing and treating both conditions. |
◊ Direct Services
On a first come, first served basis, with no insurance or ID needed, we provided over $70,000 of FREE services to 167 patients, including oral health education, dental screenings, fluoride varnish applications, vision exams, eye glasses, and dentures. In the spirit of KinderSmile Foundation, all patients were linked to a Dental Home at KinderSmile Community Oral Health Centers for continuity of care!
We are grateful for optometrists Tanya Carter and Mariah Marshall for volunteering their time and professional services, providing 103 eye exams and 95 pairs of eyeglasses! Thank you, your hard work gave the gift of sight to so many!
In RAM’s state of the art, and the world’s first and only mobile digital denture lab, we printed same day full and partial dentures onsite! Please stay tuned for patients’ success stories, ending the weekend with hugs, tears, and big smiles! |
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This was a powerful opportunity to pour into our community by improving access to essential healthcare resources and services. Thank you for helping us bring this vision to life!
When great organizations work together, we’re able to build a healthier, more equitable New Jersey! |
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Please join our efforts of changing the landscape of access to oral health care in New Jersey by supporting KinderSmile Foundation.
Your tax-deductible donation has a direct lasting impact on the health and wellbeing of every child and adult served at our Dental Homes and through our programs.
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To learn more about donations of stock or planned giving,
please email Trevor McPherson. |
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It truly takes a village!
The impending uncertainties to Medicaid and social services, and the media confusion about the use of fluoride, are further limiting access and threatening prevention, rather than prioritizing the health of the community. We are turning to YOU, our partners, supporters, donors, and volunteers to help us make a long lasting positive impact.
If you are a dental provider, we need you!
Please join our Give Back a Smile Program, and become a dental professional volunteer! Can we count on you? Whether you can contribute once a week, once a month, or just once, we would be grateful!
Please be a part of the solution and give back! Thank you! |
If you are a NJ licensed dentist or dental hygienist
and would like to learn more, please email Dr. Herman |
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Thank You to Our Grantors and Sponsors! |
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