MADISON, Wis. – Improve your own health while restoring the smile of someone in need: Join the Virtual Race for Smiles, which benefits the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry Charitable Foundation’s (AACDCF) Give Back a Smile (GBAS) program.
GBAS restores the smiles and lives of those who have suffered dental injuries from intimate partner, family, or sexual violence through the help of volunteer dental teams and donations. Upon receiving their new smiles, survivors report a significant increase in self-esteem, more employment opportunities and often a sense of closure.
The race, which will be held Oct. 11, offers participants a chance to get active while supporting a great cause. Each registrant will receive a 2014 Race for smiles t-shirt to wear during a physical activity of their choice at any location of their choice. Participants can post photos of themselves wearing the shirt while running or walking on Oct. 11 from anywhere in the world. If they use the hashtag #RaceForSmiles2014 while posting the photos to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Google+, they will be eligible to win one of several great prizes—including an iPod, FitBit, and much more.
“Through the virtual race, participants from around the world can support GBAS while getting active,” said Lisa Fitch, Director of AACDCF. “No matter where you are, you can make a difference in the life of a survivor.”
While GBAS was created to help survivors of domestic violence, the program recently expanded its eligibility requirements to include victims of family or sexual violence. It also opened its services to treat patients in Puerto Rico.
For more information, or to register, visit www.gbasraceforsmiles.com. Registration fees are $40 per participant and include a race t-shirt. Group registration fees are available. 
About Give Back a Smile
Give Back a Smile was developed to address a need in the communities of AACD members. Volunteer dentists and laboratory technicians agree to restore the broken and damaged teeth in the smile-zone of survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Generous AACD dentists and laboratories help erase the memories of abuse by restoring the smiles at no cost to the survivors thereby restoring their lives. To date, AACD members have donated more than $14 million in services to restore smiles to help more than 1,400 individuals.
About the AACD
The AACD is the world’s largest non-profit membership organization dedicated to advancing excellence in comprehensive oral care combining art and science to optimally improve dental health, function, and esthetics. Comprised of more than 6,400 cosmetic dental professionals in more than 80 countries around the globe, the AACD fulfills its mission by offering superior educational opportunities, promoting and supporting a respected credential, serving as a user-friendly and inviting forum for the creative exchange of knowledge and ideas, and providing accurate and useful information to the public and the profession.
For more information regarding the AACD, please visit www.aacd.com, send an e-mail to pr@aacd.com, or call 800.543.9220.
