DELTA DENTAL OF TENNESSEE DONATES $110,000 TO UNIVERSITIES FOR STUDENT HARDSHIP FUNDING GRANTS

“Water’s Cool @ School” educational materials will be released this spring; a new round of grants will open in Fall 2021

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – (January 12, 2021) – Delta Dental of Tennessee (Delta Dental) today announced the 55 elementary schools from across the state that were selected to receive “Water’s Cool @ School” grants to replace an existing water fountain with a new Elkay bottle filling station. To celebrate its 55th anniversary, Delta Dental launched the grant program last year to educate students on the benefits of drinking more water.

“Thank you to all of the schools that applied for a Water’s Cool @ School grant. We were so impressed by the creativity of the video and art projects that accompanied many submissions,” said Dr. Phil Wenk, CEO and president of Delta Dental of Tennessee. “Especially at a time when so many traditional water fountains are closed to prevent the spread of germs, I’m glad we can help make drinking water both ‘cool’ and more accessible to students across the state. It’s one of the best things you can do for your health, at any age.”

In addition to the Elkay bottle filling stations, all grant recipients will receive toothbrushes for students, faculty and staff. The Top 10 grant recipients will also receive water bottles for all students, faculty, and staff when their bottle filling stations are installed this spring. Those Top 10 schools are:

Piedmont Elementary (Dandridge)
Smoky Mountain Elementary (Cosby)
Mt. Carmel Elementary (Mt. Carmel)
Smithson Craighead Academy (Madison)
Milan Elementary (Milan)
Decherd Elementary (Decherd)
Hopewell Elementary (Cleveland)
Millington Elementary (Millington)
Thelma Barker Elementary (Jackson)
Glenn Martin Elementary (Crossville)

See the full list of 55 grant recipients here.

As part of the “Water’s Cool @ School” program, Delta Dental will release educational materials online in February to coincide with National Children’s Dental Health Month. Designed for elementary school audiences, these materials will include activity sheets, sugar demonstrations, games, posters and more.

Additionally, because of the strong interest in the “Water’s Cool @ School” grants, Delta Dental will be awarding additional grants for bottle filling stations to Tennessee elementary schools in Fall 2021. More information about this new round of grants will be shared over the summer.

To view some of the creative video and artwork submissions from schools, search #WatersCoolTN on social media. A sample of the video projects includes this video of teachers at Mt. Carmel Elementary rapping about the benefits of drinking water, this Superman-themed submission from students at Millington Elementary School, and this video submission from Leadership Preparatory Charter School in Memphis highlighting how the touchless bottle-filling station can help students avoid germs.

To learn more about Delta Dental’s philanthropic work across Tennessee, visit the Smile180 Foundation website.

###

 

Delta Dental of Tennessee
Delta Dental of Tennessee is the state’s largest independent dental benefits carrier with more than 1.2 million lives covered. As part of the Delta Dental Plans Association, Delta Dental of Tennessee members have access to the largest dental network in the nation with more than 154,000 providers serving more than 332,000 locations. With the simple mission of ensuring healthy smiles, Delta Dental of Tennessee works hard to help members of the communities it serves. Along with its corporate foundation, Smile180, Delta Dental of Tennessee donated more than $7 million in funding and in-kind services to over 140 organizations in 2019, and employees shared 2,182 volunteer hours in the community.