Great Shape! recruiting volunteers after pandemic derailed 2020 plans

A California-based nonprofit that suspended its international humanitarian missions in 2020 due to the pandemic is now recruiting volunteers for what it calls its “1000 Smiles” trips to the Caribbean.

Great Shape!! had primarily been active in Jamaica until expanding its 1000 Smiles projects to St. Lucia in 2015. The projects were founded by Sherwin R. Shinn, D.D.S., recipient of the  2013 ADA Humanitarian Award, and Joseph Wright.

Volunteers are needed for 2021 trips to Grenada and St. Lucia.

For Grenada, volunteers can serve either Aug. 14-23 or Aug. 22-31. For St. Lucia, the proposed project dates for 2021 are either Sept. 17-26 or Sept. 25-Oct. 4, with the volunteer choosing the week. Volunteers can also stay an extra week, in Grenada, from Aug. 29 to Sept. 6 or in St. Lucia, from Sept. 30 to Oct. 7, to help provide follow-up care.

Volunteers can be both dental professionals (dentists, hygienists, assistants, office staff, dental students) and non-dental folks, including family and friends.

Volunteers pay for their own airfare, a $900 project fee to the nonprofit and some registration-related fees, as well as pay to ship the supplies needed to do the work. If applying online, put “ADA special” in the comments section of the application to pay a discounted project fee of $875.

All-inclusive luxury accommodations at Sandals Resort and in-country transportation are free, compliments of the nonprofit’s partnership with the Sandals Foundation.

The application, as well as information of other mission trips, is available at greatshapeinc.org. For more information, call the office at 1-510-893-1751 or email 1000smiles@greatshapeinc.org.

To learn more about international volunteerism go to i nternationalvolunteer.ada.org .