Spinning Into Action For Champions For Kids

It is the beauty of childhood. Even the most mundane tasks can be made fun with a little color and a kiddo’s favorite character. Take brushing your teeth for example. No one really likes to brush their teeth (ok maybe some people, but I don’t know any), but while a bright pink toothbrush doesn’t excite me the difference between a plain boring brush and that bright pink one can motivate a kid like mine. A fun brush plus some yummy tasting toothpaste can make all the difference in getting kids to brush their teeth (well, letting mom and dad brush their teeth).

Some kids need a little more fun to motivate them… What could be more fun than a pink princess toothbrush? How about a spinning toothbrush decorated in fun stickers that tickles your teeth? (Enter shrieks of joy from my four year old. STICKERS?!) I recently set out to learn more about Arm & Hammer Spinbrushes for kids, and when I found ones that kids can decorate themselves with stickers I knew I hit the jackpot. (See my entire shopping trip in my Google+ story here.)

So why am I sharing the joy of a fun new toothbrush? Because not all kids have access to fun brushes or even new toothbrushes.

This month, I am participating in the Champions for Kids Simple Service Project Spin Into Action, which is aimed helping kids smile by motivating people across the country to take action and donate fun toothbrushes to kids who don’t have access to good oral care. Here are some fast facts:

• More than 19% of children ages 2-19 have untreated cavities. A child’s complete preventive dental program should include fluoride, at least twice-daily brushing, wise food choices and regular dental care.
• Tooth decay remains one of the most common diseases of childhood. Children living in poverty suffer twice as much tooth decay as their more affluent peers, and their disease is more likely to go untreated.
• The daily reality for children with untreated oral disease is often persistent pain, inability to eat comfortably or chew well, embarrassment at discolored and damaged teeth, and distraction from play and learning.
• Three out of four patients don’t change their toothbrush as often as is recommended. Toothbrushes should be changed every two to three months and after illnesses. **according to the CDC

Through the Champions for Kids Simple Service project participants are being encouraged to motivate others by purchasing new toothbrushes for their kids and new toothbrushes to donate. With the help of some coupons, I racked up quite a collection of toothbrushes, toothpaste and rinse to donate to The Oasis at Sharing Center.

In addition to what I picked up at Walmart, my next step is to raid my couponing stash for any extra toothbrushes or toothpastes I might have picked up as extras that I can donate. I know there are some extra brushes and there might be some rinse too.  We will see what I can come up with for my next post when I deliver the goodies.

You can help – The Champions for Kids mission is to mobilize MILLIONS of people by providing training and resources to improve the lives of children in communities across America and beyond. With a goal of mobilizing 20 million people by 2020, that mission starts with one person. The July mission is all about oral care, and you can help. Next time you are shopping for toothbrushes for your family toss an extra one in your cart to donate to a local shelter. If you are a couponer like me, you might even have a few extras in your stash you can pass on.

Learn more about how you can get involved with Champions for Kids SIMPLE Service projects by following them on Twitter (and follow the hashtag #SpinBrushCFK to see what other’s are doing for their projects) and on Facebook. You can also learn more about Sprinbrush/Arm&Hammer on Facebook and Twitter.

Disclosure – “I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and #SpinBrushCFK #CBias #SocialFabric, however, all thoughts an opinions are my own.