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Way back in the third Lockdown in January 2021, I led an online team building session for my client Dental Rooms in Wimbledon Village.
The session focussed on their Collective Sustainability and Responsibility, and the things that they as a team, supported by their Principals, wanted to do to make a difference for their community and the environment.
On the front row of the session was one of the associate dentists, a visiting specialist called Kimberly, who politely asked for a few minutes of my time to discuss a fledgling charity project that she and a friend and fellow dentist had just started.
The short version of the rest of that story is that what Kimberly first shared with me on the resulting call captured my attention and sparked my interest enough to get on board and support the charity as a strategic advisor. Because the charity she explained was an excellent initiative and has the potential to create significant and sustainable impact.
What is Gold for Kids?
Dental scrap metal is possibly not currently top of your practice agenda. The relatively small amount of money you receive from unwanted or broken crowns, bridges, PFMs, PFGs or other precious or semi-precious material probably doesn’t amount to much?
But to some children it can mean the chance of a better life. There are more than 4.5 million children living in poverty in the UK.
Most dentists and dental professionals are unaware of the huge potential that the combined value of removed restorations represents, choosing to either ignore it, or retain it personally.
The charity Gold for Kids was set up by 2 dentists who believed that patients, professionals and the public can be united in the belief that this money could be better used for the greater good – to help the many children’s charities across the UK in their vital work.
Gold For Kids Co-Founder, Leticia Casanova explains, “My friend Kimberly MacGregor and I have always looked for ways in which we could do more to give back to our communities. As parents, the welfare of children always struck a chord with us - we were looking for a way that we could help many of the deserving causes out there. And that is how Gold For Kids was born – a way for dental practices who are driven by their values to make a difference – collecting and turning restorations into cash for children’s charities.
We hope that many more people in the dental industry will become involved, and in turn, we can raise more much needed money to donate to crucial children’s charities.”
How does it work?
For practices who want to become Gold For Kids supporters, it’s very simple:
Register online at goldforkids.org and download the Welcome Pack
Collect your unwanted or broken crowns, bridges, PFMs, PFGs or other precious or semi-precious material as usual
Use our insured, pre-paid envelopes to send restorations (and jewellery) to our secure storage facilities before our bi-annual melts (next one is October)
We send the donations to a metal refinery to be processed. The melts recover the precious metals and turn them into bars, which are then sold to leading jewellery industry traders for cash.
This is then donated to selected children’s charities dedicated to improving the wellbeing and prospects of children in need.
To date, Gold For Kids has donated over £10,000 to UK Children’s Charities, and with your support, we can do much more.
Download a registration form and become a supporter of Gold For Kids, please visit www.goldforkids.org/contact-us