Give to the Max Day is a statewide outpouring of support for thousands of nonprofits and schools across Minnesota, including the University of Minnesota and the School of Dentistry and is next week on November 18. This past year, we have focused our philanthropic mission towards several themes: student scholarships, digital dentistry, research, and capital improvements.
On a sunny day in mid-June, Amy Ahnefeld brings her two children into the Hibbing Community College Dental Clinic for oral health care. A single mother to Finn and Hannah, she knows what is important to her: community, efficiency and excellence in care. She gets all those things and more at Hibbing—and that is why she has continued to return for nine years.
For Emerson Gonyea, DDS ’23, and Jenna Gardner, MDT ’22, the School of Dentistry has been a key part of their love story. Now, it’s a main character in their engagement story, too.
Last year, the class of 1980 decided to do something big for their 40-year reunion. Disappointed that their in-person gathering was canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic, they banded together to create a match pledge and encourage record-setting giving on Give to the Max Day. It worked, too: the school raised $34,500, an 80% increase in funds raised from the previous year.
“Welcome to a new day for Minnesotans on public programs who want to seek dental care,” Sheila Riggs, DDS, MS, PhD, chair of the Department of Primary Dental Care, proclaimed Wednesday, October 20.
The United States celebrates National Dental Hygiene month in October, honoring the dental hygienists who care for our teeth and promote healthy habits throughout our lives. At the School of Dentistry, we are proud to educate learners who are prepared intellectually, technically and ethically to meet the oral health care needs and challenges of the future.
