Making Great Things Happen

It’s Time for Trick-or-Teeth!

Kappa Delta Emily Douglas is up to her old tricks – making a positive difference in the lives of some of the poorest children in the nation. This month, the nonprofit organization that Emily founded when she was only a child herself, Grandma’s Gifts, is sponsoring its third Trick-or-Teeth! Project to collect toothbrushes, toothpaste and dental floss for children in Appalachia.

According to Emily, “Central Appalachia leads the nation in toothlessness. Due to the sweetness of Halloween, we decided that there was no better time to raise awareness for proper dental hygiene and organized the Trick-or-Teeth! Project.”.

Throughout October Grandma’s Gifts will be accepting donations that volunteers will package for redistribution to health departments, schools and service organizations. “Grandma’s Gifts believes that kids who establish healthy habits early in life will carry that behavior into adulthood,” Emily says. “Having worked with health departments in the past, we were greatly disturbed by the number of children without items for proper dental care or access to a dentist. Trick-or-Teeth! is about changing someone’s life one toothbrush at a time!”

Grandma’s Gifts has already changed the lives of more than 2.5 million residents of Appalachia. Emily founded Grandma’s Gifts in 1993 in honor of her grandmother, Norma Belcher Ackison who passed away two years earlier. At the time, Emily was only 11 years old, but she had been inspired by her grandmother’s story of growing up poor in Appalachia and her example of helping others in the region who live without food, shelter and warm clothing. From Emily’s initial fundraising campaign that garnered $450, Grandma’s Gifts has provided more than $12.5 million in goods, opportunities and services to the people of Appalachia.

Emily, an alumna of KD’s Gamma Nu-Miami/Ohio chapter, was honored this summer by Theta Phi Alpha Fraternity, which presented her its Siena Medal for endurance and great accomplishment. In addition to her volunteer work with Grandma’s Gifts, Emily serves as a project director for the Ohio-based Battelle for Kids nonprofit organization.

For more information about Trick-or-Teeth!, visit www.Trick-or-Teeth.org. To read more about Emily, go to www.kappadelta.org > Who We Are > Angelos > Grandma’s Gifts.