CHICAGO, Oct. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Dental Hygienists' Association Institute for Oral Health (IOH) is pleased to announce the Wrigley Company Foundation Community Service Grants Program will provide $120,000 over two years to dental hygiene organizations. Wrigley Company Foundation Community Service Grants are provided in amounts of $2,500 and $5,000 for community-based organizations providing dental hygiene care to those with limited access to oral healthcare. Applications for 2014 Wrigley Grants are now available.

"This Community Service Grant programs allows dental hygienists across the country to give back and support the communities where they work and live.  The Wrigley Company Foundation strongly supports oral care excellence and is very proud to partner with the ADHA IOH on this community outreach program for the fourth year," said Maureen Jones, Manager of the Wrigley Company Foundation

The Wrigley Company Foundation Community Service Grant Program was established in conjunction with the ADHA's 2010 National Dental Hygiene Month, in an effort to:

• Encourage dental hygienists to implement oral health programs in their community,

• Increase public awareness about the importance of preventive health services and

• Increase awareness about developing a daily oral health routine to maintain good oral hygiene.

The partnership has continued and is now in its fourth year.

The Institute for Oral Health is also proud to present the recipients of the 2013 Wrigley Company Foundation Community Service Grants. The grants are awarded to dental hygienists and dental hygiene organizations for community oral health outreach.

"As preventive oral health specialists, dental hygienists understand that you cannot achieve optimum total health without good oral health. Partnering with the Wrigley Company Foundation for the third year allows dental hygienists to use their expertise to alleviate the access to care problem in their communities," said Susan Savage, RDH, BSDH, 2013-2014 Chair of IOH. "We thank the Wrigley Company Foundation for its continued support of IOH and dental hygienists."

The grants were awarded to 13 programs to start or maintain an existing community oral health project. Applicants had to be licensed dental hygienists and active members of ADHA, and were required to submit a proposal of a community service project that demonstrates its capacity to improve the public's oral health and provide oral health education to underserved populations throughout the U.S. The winning community service projects were selected based on their significance in the communities they will serve, creative approach, sustainability, feasibility, and their ongoing quantitative and qualitative evaluation system.

The recipients of the 2013 Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company Foundation Community Service Grants are:

• Linda Hecker, CDA, RDH, BS, MA – Burlington County College Dental Hygiene Program: Give Kids a Smile a Day

• Renae Blome, RDH – Brite Smiles, Inc.: Brite Smiles are Healthy Smiles

• Terri Chandler – Future Smiles Hollingsworth: School-Based Health Center for Education and Prevention of Oral Disease

• Michelle Gross-Panico, RDH, MA, DHSc – Dignity Health Foundation East Valley on behalf of Chandler Regional Medical Center and Mercy Gilbert Medical Center: Dignity Health Children's Dental Clinic

• Karen Phillips – Yamhill County Public Health EPDH Work Group: Seal Yamhill

• Kathleen Mangskau – Ronald McDonald House Carities-Bismarck, N.D.: Ronald McDonald Care Mobile

• Kim Crabtree, RDH, RDA – Smiles on Wheels: Dental Health & Education School-Based Programs in Michigan

• Mary Camarena, RDH – CommuniCare Health Centers: Smile Savers Dental Outreach Program

• Cori Baquero-Cruz, PH RDH – One World Community Health Centers, Inc.: Woman, Infant, Child (WIC) Fluoride Varnish Program

• Lorie Jones – TOMAGWA Ministries, Inc.: Healthy Smiles

• Kimberly Cruz, RDHAP – Orange County Dental Hygienists' Society: OCDHS Annual Free Dental Clinic

• Linda Meyers – Family, Inc.: Pilot School-Based Dental Clinic for Council Bluffs Community School District

• Lisa Bell, RDH, MPH – Madison Dental Initiative: Madison Dental Initiative Interdisciplinary Approach to Reducing Disease Burden

Visit the ADHA Institute for Oral Health website for details and application materials.

For further details about NDHM, go to www.adha.org/ndhm/index.html.