Broward County, Fla. (June 25, 2010) – Kids In Distress (Kid) will be expanding its services on their Wilton Manors campus after receiving funding from organizations, including a $100,000 grant from Health Foundation of South Florida. The expansion includes a 12 chair dental clinic, eight fully equipped optometry exam rooms, an optical dispensary and optical laboratory. The new services will be provided in collaboration with the Nova Southeastern College of Dental Medicine and the College of Optometry. Third and fourth year dental and optometry students and residents will provide care to more than 5,000 children and families annually.
“By expanding services to include dental and optometric specialties, we continue to meet the critical needs of a very vulnerable population within our community,” said Kid President and CEO Tom Tomczyk. “We thank the individuals, like Nick Cassas, whose gift is responsible for the renovation and construction of the Clinic and organizations, including the Lillian Wells Foundation and Health Foundation of South Florida.”
Health Foundation of South Florida, a nonprofit grant making organization, is dedicated to improving health in Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties. By funding providers and supporting programs to promote health and prevent disease, the Foundation makes a measurable and sustainable impact in the health of individuals and families. Since 1993, the Foundation has awarded more than $84 million in grants and program support. For more information on the Health Foundation, please call 305.374.7200 or visit the Web site, http://www.hfsf.org
The Kid-NSU Dental and Optometry clinics, slated to open in the Fall 2010, will be located on the Wilton Manors campus at 819 Northeast 26th Street in Wilton Manors. The state-of-the-art facility will provide preventative and comprehensive dental and optometry care to children up to 18 years of age and their families. The facility will focus on meeting the needs of underserved children in the community and providing dental care to those with special needs.
The Kid-NSU clinics will be taking calls for information and pre-opening appointments in June, 2010 at (954) 567-5650.
Kids In Distress (KID) is a nationally accredited nonprofit organization that has been supporting abused and neglected children for 30 years. The organization is dedicated to the preservation of the family, the prevention of child abuse, and the care and treatment of children and their families. KID partners with multiple private sources including corporations, organizations, municipalities, schools, and individuals to provide basic services to the underserved population in the South Florida community.
KID services helped more than 6,000 children and families last year through Prevention, Foster Care, Preschool, Family Counseling Clinic and Emergency Residential programs. KID has an impeccable reputation and has won countless awards including Best Charity of 2007 – Broward/Palm Beaches, Congressional Angels in Adoption 2008, and was chosen out of all the children’s service agencies in the State of Florida in 2007 to be the location where Governor Crist signed the Children’s Cabinet Bill into effect.