This year ’ s MOM-n-PA mission was held in Reading on June 21 and 22 . We were last in Reading in 2018 and had one of our busiest events . We again expected a great need and we were not surprised by the more than 400 people in line before 5 a . m . on Friday morning .
MOM-n-PA is in its 11 th year of treating and caring for the underserved of Pennsylvania through donated dental care . Earlier this year , the board made the progressive decision to become a part of the Pennsylvania Dental Foundation , the charitable arm of the Pennsylvania Dental Association . This combination of resources will help MOM-n-PA thrive in coming years with the help of PDF and PDA .
The Reading area community , both dental and non-dental , stepped up this year with an amazing number of volunteers and donated resources . I can ’ t say enough to thank the community for helping their own . I often say that my charity may be important to me , but is not always as important to others . The willingness of the Reading area community to support this event was remarkable .
Dr . Jordan Hottenstein and Dr . Gary Wegman were our Local Co-Chairs this year . They did an excellent job of coordinating local dental and nondental volunteers . Among their other duties , Jordan coordinated after care services and Gary helped obtain free parking for all the volunteers . Angel Figueroa is a local leader in the Reading Hispanic community . He was helpful in 2018 and was extremely helpful again this year in getting the community active in so many ways . I want to thank these individuals for all of their time and efforts to help their community .
Our goal is simple : “ Do The Most Good For The Most People .”
It ’ s always heartbreaking to see so many people line up over night to get free dental care . It reminds me how important what we do is to the community . It ’ s also painful when we have to say “ no ” to some treatments . Each year we have a limited number of partial and full dentures we can provide .
JULY / AUGUST 2024 | PENNSYLVANIA DENTAL JOURNAL 13