GSDM Volunteers at the Brazilian Independence Day Outdoor Festival
On Sunday, September 10, 2017, 30 members of the faculty, staff, and student body, and family members of the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) volunteered at the Brazilian Independence Day Outdoor Festival, held at DCR Herter Park in Boston. The GSDM chapter of the Hispanic Student Dental Association (HSDA) led the organization of this volunteer opportunity.
This event is held in collaboration with The Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers (MAPS). The mission of MAPS is to improve the lives of Portuguese-speaking individuals and families from Massachusetts; and help them become contributing, active participants in American society while maintaining strong ethnic identity and a sense of community. MAPS works with and for the Brazilian, Cape Verdean, Portuguese and other Portuguese-speaking communities to increase access and remove barriers to health, education and social services through direct services, advocacy, leadership and community development.
At this event, the cohort from GSDM was on hand to provide oral health promotion and dental screenings. They worked alongside the MAPS volunteers who were providing free HIV and Hepatitis C testing. Other events held at the Festival included an Opening Parade led by Marcus Santos and Bloco AfroBrazil, and La Pinata and Children’s Group. There were children’s activities such as face painting, drawing, and pony rides. Food stands offering ethnic Brazilian, Cape Verdean, and Portuguese cuisine were available to the festival-goers, as well as live musical performances.
By the end of the event, the GSDM group had provided 52 dental screenings and educated many more on proper oral health practices. The group of volunteers from GSDM were: Bakr Amin DMD 18; Yimar Angell AS DMD 18; Nitka Arora DMD 21; Selene Ayuso DMD 20; Mariana Braga DMD 20; Nicholas Canal (other); Gladys Carrasco, Clinical Instructor, Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research; Dr. Pelly Chang, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of General Dentistry; Karen Chileuitt, Research Dental Assistant; Stefan de Solo DMD 21; Dr. Carmen Garcia, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of General Dentistry; Morgan Glaze DMD 21; Francini Heidemann DMD 19; Usman Iqbal (preceptor); Sara Khan (preceptor); Sharmir Khan (preceptor); Priyam Kumar (preceptor); Dr. Euger Lin, Clinical Instructor, Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery; Myley Lin (family member); Ms. Kathy Lituri, Oral Health Promotion Director in the Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research; Alex Lopez DMD 19; Ana Mateo DMD 20; Hector Mendoza, Program Administrator; Miguel Moreno DMD 20; Leslie Naritoku DMD 21; Larissa Paganini DMD 20; Cassandra Pierre Jerome DMD 21; Macy Pour (preceptor); Victoria Ramos DMD 21; Hanna Slavin DMD 20; Moaz Zanbarakji, Research Dental Assistant; and Ana Zea, Director of Community Based Education.
More photos from this event can be found on Facebook.