Hedieh Kousedghi AS 15 performs a dental screening on a child visitor at Christmas in the City.
On December 21, 2014, members of the Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) joined thousands of volunteers at the 22nd annual Christmas in the City (CITC). Held at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, this festive event benefited over 4,000 homeless children, parents and caregivers from Boston area homeless shelters. The holiday party featured a banquet, live entertainment, a “Winter Wonderland” with games, rides, a petting zoo, and other kid-friendly activities. In addition, Santa gave each child a personalized gift from his or her Christmas list.
This marks the third year that GSDM participated in CITC. Oral Health Promotion Director Kathy Lituri and the GSDM volunteers offered dental screenings and helped address oral issues pertaining to individual children. They also promoted oral health by providing age-appropriate, hands-on activities and distributed toothbrushes and other information on proper oral hygiene. Anthony Kofoworola-Kuti AS 16 took photos throughout the event, capturing the volunteers in action as they interacted with hundreds of visitors.
“This event tugs on our heart strings more than any other event we participate in,” says Lituri. “It is really an honor to be a part of it, and every year we try to make our small part not only bigger, but also more meaningful for the attendees. All of the families that visited the GSDM dental station were so appreciative and grateful for what we had to offer.”
GSDM faculty volunteers were: Clinical Instructors in the Department of Health Policy & Health Services Research Drs. Lina Benslimane and Gladys Carrrasco, Clinical Professor in the Department of Orthodontics & Dentofacial Orthopedics Dr. Kenneth Drizen, Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of General Dentistry Dr. Laura Kaufman, Clinical Assistant Professor and Practice Leader in the Department of General Dentistry Dr. Waleerat Kaweevisaltrakul, Oral Health Promotion Director Ms. Kathy Lituri, and Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Global & Population Health Dr. Mohammad Mourad.
The student volunteers were: Amanda Alon DMD 18, Rizwan Baig AS 16, John Costello DMD 16, Kayla Cuddy DMD 16, Sara Elashaal DMD 17, Zhan Huang AS 16, Navtej Kang AS 16, Ana Keohane AS 16, Anthony Kofoworola-Kuti AS 16, Hedieh Kousedghi AS 15, Andrea Lam DMD 16, Neemi Lama Sherpa AS 16, Hyunah Lee DMD 16, Guanghui Ling AS 16, Jayesh Patel DMD 18, Lavanya Tortiker AS 16, Angela Wu AS 16, Ping Zhang AS 16, and Lina Zhong AS 16.
Other volunteers were Lee Costello (GSDM’s liaison to the event) and Mr. Martin Weeks.