One of the benefits of attending a large school like Cornell is the variety of student organizations and activities offered on campus. From athletic clubs to service opportunities, Cornell prides itself on the vast array of options it provides students to engage in the broader community. One such organization is the Unspoken Smiles Foundation, specifically its chapter at Cornell.
The Unspoken Smiles Foundation is a global, nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching oral hygiene skills and education to young children in impoverished communities. It also operates a Global Dental Outreach Program to increase access to dental care in countries worldwide. One unique aspect of Unspoken Smiles is its intersectionality between access to dental care for young children and access to education for women. Through its specialized Fellowship Program, Unspoken Smiles trains young women in at-risk communities dental hygienist skills so they are able to obtain employment and make a positive economic impact in their areas.
The organization was founded in 2014 by Jean Paul Laurent, a highly accomplished dental hygienist, Huffington Post contributor and student at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Jean Paul formed the organization after seeing the devastating impacts of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, specifically the deteriorating oral health of many children. Since its creation, Unspoken Smiles has won a Resolution Project Fellowship through the United Nations and has expanded its program to help even more children in Kurdistan, Ecuador, Romania, Mexico, Italy and India. With proper fundraising and events, Unspoken Smiles has been able to provide access to dental care and raise awareness for the global concern of access to dental care and proper oral hygiene.
Recently, the Unspoken Smiles Foundation has launched a chapter at Cornell and is in the process of expanding to NYU, Iona College, and Columbia University. The organization is also currently partnered with both NYU College of Dentistry and Columbia University’s College of Dental Medicine. Unspoken Smiles is an amazing way for students to get involved in service, especially pre-dental and pre-med students. The organization provides students the opportunity to plan and participate in fundraising events, teach young children and broader communities about the importance of oral health and access to dental care, and engage in legal and medical research on the implementation of dental care policies in both private and nonprofit sectors.
Students can also reap a variety of rewards due to the organization’s vast number of connections and opportunities. These include, but are not limited to, the opportunity to publish blog posts on legal/medical research for the Huffington Post, nominations for the Presidential Service Award, graduate school recommendations from Jean Paul and other medical/dental professionals and professors, research and service experience to boost students’ resumes and graduate school applications, and the opportunity to produce tangible change on a global scale to a variety of different groups in need. Unspoken Smiles is just one way to get involved, and if you’re interested, please visit www.unspokensmilesfoundation.org or e-mail unspokensmilescu@gmail.com!