When You're Smiling...

To quote the famous Louis Armstrong song…” When you're smiling, the whole world smiles with you”. These words ring true and while for some this is easy to do, it is a challenge for many others. There are those who due to the lack of dental care, don't have the opportunity to replace missing teeth with a smile. The lack of functional teeth brings on many challenges….low self-esteem, various health related issues, difficulty obtaining employment and a feeling of embarrassment and despair.

The Save a Smile program was created to fill a void in health care for those with difficulty obtaining the services. Dentures is an area that is not covered by Medicaid and many can simply not afford a set of dentures, so Catholic Charities established the Save a Smile program to solve that problem.
With a waiting list of over 350 people in need and more coming into Catholic Charities Greenville office daily,funds are necessary to provide dentures for all those on the list. Catholic Charites receives funding from private donations, grants and foundations, but the need continues to grow and these funds are vital to providing the dentures. While over 750 individuals have been given the gift of a smile since the inception of the program, many others are waiting for one, two and sometimes up to 3 years for the phone call that changes their appearance and their lives.

With a long standing partnership with the Greenville Tech Dental program, students hold workshops with those that will be receiving dentures to instruct them on proper nutrition, brushing, flossing and dental care. This enables them to take care of their new smile and preserve the life of the dentures through proper care. This education is a valuable component of the program.

Through the Save-a-Smile program and a grant received through the Raskob Foundation for Catholic Activities, Janet Gotshaw received that phone call and will receive the long awaited gift of a new smile. That one call on that day will change her life forever.

The bond between mother and daughter is often very strong and in the case of Janet and her daughter Carmen, that bond is lovingly strong and inspiring. Janet has had to endure many hardships and medical issues, but Carmen has remained steadfast by her side weathering each and every storm that comes their way and have even learned to play after each storm despite the hardships. When Carmen was 16 her mother was in a car accident that damaged her spine. Carmen took 2 and sometimes 3 jobs while in high school and cared for her mother. She was able to graduate college and has 2 children of her own and still cares for her mother daily.

Through Janet's various health issues mother and daughter persevered. Janet’s body started to reject her teeth and a tumor was also found in her throat that was cancerous and was removed. She not only has had difficulty with eating, but was embarrassed by her appearance, but all the while Carmen telling her the beauty is truly inside and holding onto the hope that one day she could provide her mother with the much needed dentures. She started to set money aside and worked extra jobs to get the funding needed, but each time she got close to the goal, the money was needed for another unforeseen circumstance and the dream was put on hold. On the afternoon of Friday, March 18 ^th, she got the call from Karl Rogozenski in the Greenville Catholic Charities office that her mother was going to receive the dentures made possible by the generous gift given by the Raskob Foundation. In an instance, years of frustration, fading hope and dashed dreams were suddenly transformed into a beacon of hope and a changing world for mother and daughter. This story is one of many stories yet to be written about hope, faith and perseverance. Through the selfless gifts of giving from various agencies, foundations and individuals, others will realize the dream of a new and infectious smile to share with the world. The Save a Smile program is more than just a physical transformation for many, it is life altering and changes not just the smile, but also changes the soul and resurrects the spirit.


“Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.” Mother Teresa of Calcutta


You can change a smile and a life by giving to Catholic Charities. /donate