2015 Global Days of Service
During this year’s Global Days of Service, 140 students, faculty, and staff from Boston University’s Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) volunteered a total of 494.5 hours at several different community service locations throughout Boston.
Boston University’s Global Days of Service is an annual, month-long, event that allows alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends from all areas of the Boston University network to give back to their local, national, and international communities. This year, a total of 6,944 hours of service were logged by Boston University volunteers during the month-long event.
Members of the GSDM community served their 494.5 volunteer hours at 15 different service locations across Boston, helping to make this year’s Global Days of Service a huge success.
“I am so proud to be Dean of an institution comprised of so many students, faculty, and staff members who are engaged in and committed to our community,” said Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter.
Photos from Global Days of Service 2015 can be found on Facebook and Flickr.
Healthy Smile, Healthy You
On March 27, the GSDM Muslim Student Association (MSA), in collaboration with the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center (ISBCC), held the second Healthy Smile, Healthy You event for the local community.
At the event—which was open to the public—25 GSDM students, 7 faculty members, and 1 pre-dental student volunteered to provide a wide range of oral health promotion, education, age appropriate activities, and screenings for families and the general public.
The event was a great success. Volunteers performed various functions: screening; recording; taking registrations; manning information tables; acting as runners; and greeting guests at the front door.
Amr Aly DMD 17 and Mona Hatami AEGD 15 organized the event. They praised all of the volunteers for their participation and contributions. Hatami said, “It was a very successful event and people in the community are still talking about how much they enjoyed it.” She continued, “I was very touched with the way all the volunteers worked together to help people in the community.”
GSDM community volunteers:
Passant Abdel Megeed AS 15; Mishal Alsharif PERIO 14; Fahad Alwithani PROS 16; Amr Aly DMD 17; Clinical Associate in the Department of Restorative Sciences & Biomaterials Obadah Attar; Rizwan Baig AS 16; Yousef Behbehanni DMD 16; Clinical Instructor in the Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research and Program Dentist at Smart Smiles in the Boston Public Schools Lina Bensilmane; Rubbiya Charania DMD 16; Associate Professor in the Department of Endodontics and Director of the Advanced Specialty Education Program in Endodontics Dental Health Center Sami Chogle; Sara Elashaal DMD 17; Aisha Hakeem DMD 16; Mona Hatami DMD 10; Faryal Hussain DMD 17; Noor Jawad DMD 18; Ahmed Jawad DMD 16; Safeer Jiwa DMD 17; Salman Khanani DMD 16; Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Restorative Sciences & Biomaterials Ali Khiblil; Courtney Knapik DMD 16; Jiffry Kolonda DMD 18; Clinical Instructor and Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research Oral Health Promotion Director Kathy Lituri; Alyssa Mazzoli DMD 16; Clinical Instructor in the Department of Global & Population Health Mohammad Mourad; Nora Nakshabendi DMD 16; Jayesh Patel DMD 18; Daniella Rizzo DMD 16; Rohan Rohan DMD 18; Clinical Instructor Manal Saadoun; Hashem Shehadeh DMD 18; Yousef Sidki DMD 17; Zeeshan Wahab DMD 18; Syed Zaidi DMD 16; and, friend of GSDM Moaz Zanbarakji
Boys & Girls Club
On March 31, The GSDM chapter of the American Student Dental Association (ASDA) provided free, interactive dental education to approximately 200 children between the ages of 7 and 12 at the Yawkey Club of Roxbury, a Boys and Girls Club in Boston.
The GSDM chapter of ASDA works with the Office of Global and Population Health to host the event each year as part of Give Kids a Smile, a nationwide initiative co-sponsored by the American Dental Association (ADA).
The ADA launched the Give Kids a Smile program nationally in 2003 as a way for dentists across the country to join with others in their community to provide dental services to underserved children. Dentists and other team members volunteer their time and services to provide screenings, treatments, and education to children throughout the United States. Each year, approximately 350,000 children benefit from more than 1,500 events.
At the March event, children visited five dental themed tables to learn about proper brushing and flossing; healthy eating; tooth protection such as mouth guards, fluoride, and sealants; smoking and oral piercing; and careers in dental medicine.
GSDM community volunteers:
Nicolas Branshaw DMD 16; Tien Do DMD 18; Jenny Kye DMD 16; Lana Le DMD 16; Jina Lee DMD 16; Clinical Instructor and Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research Oral Health Promotion Director Kathy Lituri; Alyssa Mazzoli DMD 16; Vrushali Mirajkhar AS 16; Mona Najafi DMD 16; Nora Nakshabendi DMD 16; Mike Navy DMD 16; Jenny Ng DMD 16; Jeremy Ngyuen DMD 18; Luis Perez DMD 18; Michelle Prieto DMD 16; Richa Rashmi AS 15; Daniella Rizzo DMD 16; Megan Sullivan DMD 18; Nobiru Suzuki DMD 18; Mike Whitcomb DMD 16; Amanda Yip DMD 16
Haley House
On April 5, four GSDM students from the Muslim Student Association (MSA) distributed dental kits and helped in the soup kitchen at Haley House, a nonprofit located in Boston’s South End and Roxbury neighborhoods that offers meals and other programs to those in need.
The four GSDM student volunteers spent more than four hours at Haley House helping to cook, serve, and clean up in Haley House’s soup kitchen. Each shift in the soup kitchen at Haley House ended with a guided reflection.
Haley House was founded in 1966 when Kathe and John McKenna began offering homeless Bostonian’s a place to stay and a simple meal in a small South End apartment. Since then, Haley House has grown into one of Boston’s foremost homeless support centers, offering meals, groceries, housing, and other necessities to those in need.
GSDM community volunteers: Amr Aly DMD 17; Mohamed Bayoumy DMD 16; Rubbiya Charania DMD 16; Yousef Sidki DMD 17
Rosie’s Place
The Women to Women Program is a collaborative effort with the Wellness Clinic at Rosie’s Place and the GSDM Student Chapter of the American Association of Women Dentists (AAWD) and CHP. This program strives to assess and address the oral health needs of the women that seek services at Rosie’s Place, a sanctuary for homeless, battered and displaced women. GSDM students and faculty were available from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm to answer questions, distribute home care products, and offer dental screenings and related advice.
GSDM community volunteers:
McAllister Castelaz DMD 17; Sara Elashaal DMD 17; Courtney Knapik DMD 16; Clinical Instructor and Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research Oral Health Promotion Director Kathy Lituri; Sam Ocel DMD 18; Parnian Paymodz-Yazdi DMD 17; Michelle Prieto DMD 16; and, friend of GSDM Moaz Zanbarakji
Mosque for Praising Allah
On April 12, four GSDM students affiliated with the Muslim Student Association (MSA) met at the Mosque for Praising Allah in Boston to distribute dental kits to those in need.
The Mosque for Praising Allah, located on Shawmut avenue in Roxbury, offers religious services and maintains a food pantry for Boston residents of all faiths in need.
GSDM community volunteers:
Amr Aly DMD 17; Ahmed Jawad DMD 16; Yousef Sidki DMD 17; Syed Zaidi DMD 16
Greater Boston Food Bank
On both April 13 and 22, students, faculty members, and staff from GSDM gathered at the Greater Boston Food Bank to help provide food to Boston residents in need.
On April 13, a team of 12 GSDM volunteers served at the Greater Boston Food Bank, and on April 22, the GSDM volunteer team had 19 members. Both teams were made up of students, faculty, and staff from GSDM.
The volunteers were tasked with sorting and packing donated grocery products that were then distributed to hunger relief agencies. Some volunteers loaded boxes onto conveyer belts, other volunteers inspected products, others sorted products, and others checked and labeled boxes.
The Greater Boston Food Bank’s mission is to end hunger in eastern Massachusetts. The organizations distributed 50 million pounds of food in 2014, enough for 42 million meals.
GSDM community volunteers:
Research Project Assistant Alba Aldana; Research Project Assistant Lilian Alvarado; Clinic Care Supervisor Janina Brown; Research Project Assistant Jobina Cabrera; Alumni Coordinator Leslie Caiola; Debbie Desravines DMD 16; Jobren Dingle DMD 16; Sara Elashaal DMD 17; Research Data Clerk Limbania Fernandez; Business Manager Stephanie Grigent; Research Project Assistant Evelyn Herrera; Sally Jacob DMD 17; Anthony Kofoworola-Kuti DMD 16; Research Project Assistant Ramona Lara; Continuing Education Coordinator Janine Lipsky; Alyssa Mazzoli DMD 16; Director of Alumni Relations & Annual Giving Stacey McNamee; Program Administrator Hector Mendoza; Nikkita Muwanguzi DMD 17; Research Project Coordinator Alicia Muzzi; Research Project Coordinator Erika Ramos; Daniella Rizzo DMD 16; Communications Manager Molly Washburn
Other volunteers:
Katie Hurley; Athena Laines; Tomas Lichauco; Amy Lithimane; Lily Ma; Jason Naftulin; Sarah Oh; Zachary Pepper-Cunningham
The Food Project
On April 14, six GSDM faculty members and students traveled to the Dudley neighborhood in Dorchester to lend a hand to a local non-profit called The Food Project, which works to engage young people in personal and social change through hands-on lessons about sustainable agriculture.
The six GSDM volunteers planted and tended various plants at a farm run by the organization while participating in education games and discussions about the food system.
The Food Project works with 120 teenagers to farm 40 acres of land in Eastern Massachusetts. The mission of the program is to give teenagers job experience, while fostering a connection to the food system and issues of food justice.
GSDM community volunteers:
Layla Abuljadayel DPH 17; Abdulraheem Alwafi DPH 16; Director of Global Initiatives and Assistant Professor in the Department of General Dentistry Kathleen Held; Clinical Instructor in the Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research Oral Health Promotion Director Kathy Lituri.
Other volunteers:
Teresa Betit; Athena Laines
Relay for Life
At the Boston University Track and Tennis Center on April 18, thirteen students, faculty, and other members of the GSDM community participated in the annual Relay for Life event.
Relay for Life, which is run by The American Cancer Society, is a yearly event in which participants gather on various teams at a designated athletic track and walk until day break in order to raise funds for research and to support those who have battled cancer.
Many of the Relay for Life teams set up booths around the track offering various fun services and food to raise money and awareness.
The Relay for Life team from GSDM set up a booth focused on oral cancer during the event. When they weren’t walking around the track, GSDM volunteers were at their booth, which had dental trivia, games, and t-shirts.
Relay for Life started in 1985 when Dr. Gordy Klatt raised $27,000 by walking and running around a track in Tacoma, Washington for 24 hours. Since then, the event has grown to become the largest cancer fundraiser in the world.
GSDM community volunteers:
Scott J Jegard DMD 18; Pardis Koleini DMD 15; Lana Le DMD 16; Associate Director of Student Affairs Erica Manczuk; Keely Matheson DMD 15; Mike Mayr DMD 16; Jayesh Patel DMD 18; Luis Perez DMD 18; Monica Schmidt DMD 15; Jonathan Solomon DMD 15; Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of General Dentistry Tina Valades; Parnian Yazdi DMD 17; and, friend of GSDM Ralph Tullberg
Cradles to Crayons
On April 23, 13 GSDM faculty, staff members, and other members of the GSDM community volunteered with the nonprofit Cradles to Crayons at the organization’s headquarters in Brighton.
The 13 volunteers received an introduction to Cradles to Crayons before being assigned to project areas where they worked with a Cradles to Crayon staff member on projects that would benefit the organization’s various programs.
Cradles to Crayons provides children from birth through age 12 living in homeless or low-income situations with the essential items they need to thrive—at home, at school and at play. Items are supplied free of charge by engaging and connecting communities that have items with communities that need them.
GSDM community volunteers:
Clinical Instructor in the Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research Gladys Carrasco; Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research and Director of School-based Programs Corinna Culler; Research Dental Assistant Justin Escobar; Susan Etscovitz; Research Dental Assistant Raffi Kazanjian; Clinical Instructor in the Department of Global & Population Health Mohammad Mourad; Research Dental Assistant Daniel Nayebi; Research Dental Assistant Nekou Nowrouzi; School Based Program Coordinator Paula Pina; and Clinical Instructor in the Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research Martin Ugarte-Chazez
Other volunteers:
Susan Etscovitz; Jason LaChapelle; Athena Laines; Brian Mal
My Chip
Boston University faculty and students collaborated with MY CHIP to obtain bite registrations and DNA samples for their Child Identification Program at the East Boston YMCA Healthy Kids Fair. The MY CHIP Program prepares child identification kits free of charge for use in a situation in which a child goes missing and police conduct a search for the child.
GSDM community volunteers:
Roua Al Timimi AS 15; Navte Kang AS 16; Hyunah Lee DMD 16; Clinical Instructor in the Department of Global & Population Health Mohammad Mourad
Pine Street Inn
On April 28, 14 GSDM faculty, staff, and other members of the GSDM community helped the Pine Street Inn, an organization working to end homelessness, provide approximately 2000 meals to those in need.
Pine Street Inn offers a wide array of services for homeless individuals in Boston. In addition to providing meals, the organization houses more than 850 tenants at 37 residences throughout greater Boston, shelters more than 600 people each night, and provides job training and many other services to those in need.
At the Pine Street Inn’s emergency shelters, guests receive a clean bed, two meals a day, and access to a shower, laundry facilities, and a health clinic.
GSDM community volunteers:
Program Coordinator Jeselene Andrade; Professor and Director of Behavioral Science Research Belinda Borrelli; Clinic Care Supervisor Janina Brown; Clinical Instructor in the Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research Dee Devlin; Surgical Assistant Patricia Dirksmeier; Data Manager and Analyst Christina Gebel; Program Administrator Sheree Norqust; Research Clinical Examiner Maria Nunez; and School Based Program Coordinator Paula Pina
Other volunteers:
Rodi Alexiadis; Maria Basha; Athena Laines; Tomas Lichauco; Eric MacDonald
St. Catherine of Siena School
On May 4, GSDM students visited a fourth grade classroom at St. Catherine of Siena School in Norwood to talk with the children about the importance of taking care of one’s teeth and how to do so. A variety of educational materials were used, which allowed for an exciting and interactive experience for the children, and goodie bags were handed out at the conclusion of the program.
GSDM community volunteers:
John Costello DMD 16; Kayka Cuddy DMD 16;
Ricesticks and Tea Asian Food Pantry
On May 9, six volunteers affiliated with GSDM lent their time to Ricesticks and Tea Asian Food Pantry to help the organization sort and bag food for area residents in need.
Ricesticks and Tea Food Pantry is a Boston-based food pantry program that serves more than 120 pre-screened low-income Asian immigrant and refugee families each month. The 120 households represent over 300 children, adults and seniors.
GSDM community volunteers:
Julie Cheung CAS 17; Vivian Nguyen CAS 17; Vanessa Thai DMD 16; Ceceilia Thai CAS 17
Other volunteers:
Kevin Campbell; Andrew Lum
St. Francis House
On both May 10 and 16, the GSDM Office of Global & Population Health, in collaboration with the BU student chapter of the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD), volunteered to prepare and serve food for those in need at the St. Francis House, a homeless shelter in Boston.\
For more than 30 years, St. Francis House has welcomed poor and homeless men and women. It provides services, support, and a glimpse of what their lives can become; productive, healthy, and fulfilling. St. Francis House provides guests with everything they need to reclaim their dignity and rebuild their lives; nutritious meals, clothing, access to medical care, counseling, vocational rehabilitation, and housing.
Student chapters from GSDM, Harvard University SDM, and Tufts University SDM volunteered at the shelter. “Volunteering at the St. Francis House offers an incredible opportunity for our students to gain a holistic view of issues faced by men and women who are in need of the services of St. Francis House,” said Oral Health Promotion Director Ms. Kathy Lituri. She continued, “St. Francis House is our neighbor and is a vital part of our surrounding community. Thank you to the students who took time from their busy schedules to help us give back to our community.”
GSDM community volunteers:
Selena Francis DMD 16; Matthew Jones DMD 18; Jenny Kye DMD 16; Jinjoo Lee DMD 16; Sasha Manchanda DMD 18;
Other volunteers:
Kevin Campbell; Wonsuk Joo; Neemi Sherpa; Smriti Singh; Vanessa Thai
Center Club
On April 9, eight students, faculty members, and staff from GSDM volunteered their time at the Center Club, a program of Bay Cove Human Services that is the oldest and largest clubhouse in New England for people with psychiatric disabilities.
Center Club is a five-day-a-week program for people with psychiatric disabilities. The program combines employment, housing, and education services with social activities, wellness initiatives, and advocacy using a holistic approach and principles of self-help, peer support and empowerment.
The GSDM volunteers offered oral health screenings, referrals, and education to the residents of the Center Club.
GSDM community volunteers:
Poornima AS 16; Andrea Lam DMD 16; Clinical Instructor and Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research Oral Health Promotion Director Kathy Lituri; Anna Komnatnaya DMD 16; Olu Mide AS 16; Kevin Treger DMD 15; John Xu DMD 16; and, friend of GSDM Moaz Zanbarakji