A new community initiative, Care For Kids hopes to improve school readiness for at-risk JCPS students by providing free oral exams and follow-up dental care, eye exams, health screenings and nutritional counseling. The program will pilot at Wheatley Elementary School with a goal of expanding to other JCPS schools in the future. Collaborators include the UofL School of Dentistry and UofL Department of Pediatrics; Kosair Charities; Dawne Gee, WAVE 3; and David James, Metro Council.

The initiative will kick-off October 17 with an open house from 5p.m.-7p.m. for Wheatley parents and children at Kosair Charities, 982 Eastern Parkway, home of UofL’s newest pediatric dental and pediatric clinics. A similar open house will take place October 21 from 5p.m.-7p.m. at the UofL School of Dentistry for those who can’t attend the first event.

The open house events will educate parents about the opportunity for their children to access convenient and affordable oral and vision care, and incentivize parents to complete required permission slips for their child’s participation. In addition to educational programming, these events will include visits by local celebrities, costume characters, clinic tours, giveaways and refreshments.

Please consider joining us for the October 17 and/or October 21 open house events, as we seek to continue meeting the oral health needs of the underserved in our community!

For more information contact Deborah Wade, d0wade01@louisville.edu or 502-852-4517.