West Virginia Executive Winter 2020 | Page 53

Why is dentistry important? One of the first efforts Young led during the year of giving back was a bicycle helmet drive at the Kanawha Medical Society (KMS) to benefit the City of Charleston, which provides them to local children. For its December meeting, the WVSMA rallied around a family who had recently lost everything in a house fire by hosting a fundraiser. She hopes to have a new proj- ect lined up for the KMS spring meeting so she and the members can volunteer together again, whether that is a street cleanup or another opportunity to help a family in need. Two years later, the disaster continues to inspire her to find ways to help keep others safe. Under her leadership, in July 2019 the KCHD developed the Kanawha Health Report, a podcast to educate county citizens about important topics, and in October, the health depart­ment marked Fire Prevention Month by hosting a fire prevention and safety event. She has also worked with the American Red Cross to distribute educational brochures, and she hopes to contribute to propane safety awareness in the near future. More than that, she wants to show her daughter the power of helping others. “Giving back has given me a different kind of joy,” she says. “Once you place the needs of others in front of yourself and see the wonderful impact you are having, it creates a sense of warmth and happiness that you want to feed and grow. It’s not something you can buy, and it cannot be given to you. At the end of the day, I feel like the world is a little better because of it, and I want to pass that on to my daughter and her generation.”  Because even though he’s missing an eyebrow, the first thing you notice is his SMILE. Change your smile, change your life . (304) 342-6162 www.wvsmiles.com WWW.WVEXECUTIVE.COM WINTER 2020 51