By David Anderson, president, Tillicum Woodbrook Neighborhood Association
“She had been out of work for almost three years, having been fired from her waitressing job because her front teeth were decayed into black stubs at the gum line. After her visit to the ‘Go Hub’ Dental Van in Woodbrook last month, she left with a beautiful smile and flowing tears (before and after pictures attached). She would be the first of many patients leaving with hugs and tears of gratitude following “another typical day” as described by Dr. Kevin Gilge, our featured presenter at the Tillicum Woodbrook Neighborhood Association (TWNA) this coming Thursday, Nov.1, 6:30 P.M.
The TWNA meeting will again be held at our temporary location – Tillicum Baptist Church, 8415 Maple St. SW – while the Tillicum Community Center continues undergoing restoration from water damage suffered some months back as the result of a fire and the deluge from a sprinkler-system.
An average of 16 folks from the local area, many of whom have not seen a dentist for a long time – “two ladies paying their first visit to a dentist in 36 years and the other 60 years just this last September” recounts Dr. Gilge – are treated each month by the dental team of Gilge and three volunteer dental assistants.
“Medical Teams International” owns and maintains the state-of-the-art mobile clinic from which “over $8,000 in free services are offered to the community on an average day” estimates Gilge. Daily operational costs that run upwards of $800 were initially provided by Harbor Community Services, its main mission food bank operations. But that financial assistance ended in May leaving Life Center South Church to undertake the uphill fundraising effort since then.
If you would like to contribute to what Gilge describes as “a critical need, one in which the benefits are so readily and visibly seen in our neighbors” you can make your tax-deductible donation online at www.life-center.org under the “giving” tab, or mail it directly to Life Center at 1717 S. Union Ave., Tacoma, WA 98405. Be sure to designate the gift “Life Center South Dental Van.”
And to hear more of the heart-warming, face-brightening work of Dr. Gilge, be sure to attend the TWNA this Thursday, Nov.1, 6:30 PM, at our temporary location, Tillicum Baptist Church, 8415 Maple St. SW.
In the meantime, here are some YouTube testimonials of those who’ve benefited from the generosity of others’ practical, professional and financial support of the dental van program.
