Imagine a world where no child has to suffer from an untreated medical or dental problem, where access to needed healthcare is just a phone call away. 

What if your child needed to see a doctor but you couldn’t afford to see one? You’re working hard, maybe even two jobs, just to keep food on your family’s table, a shelter over your family’s heads, and clothing on your family’s bodies. Healthcare insurance is not an option because there’s just nothing left over, your employer doesn’t provide the needed coverage, and you make too much to qualify for state-supported healthcare.

Glendale Healthy Kids was formed to make sure those children of low-income, underinsured families here in Glendale and the surrounding areas have the access to needed healthcare.

Let me tell you a couple of stories of what Glendale Healthy Kids does.

Joseph, a teen-ager, who lost both his parents at an early age, heading in the wrong direction. No guidance, no sense of belonging, nothing really to live for, needing desperately someone to help him get needed dental care. Through a joint program with the USC Mobile Dental Clinic, Joseph was able to get that needed dental care, along with orthodontia that helped him move forward in life. Not only because he was now in good health, but because there were people who cared, people who wanted this boy to succeed, people who saw a spark in this boy and wanted to make a difference. Today, Joseph credits Glendale Healthy Kids for saving his life, for giving him a renewed direction in life, and for now allowing him to help others move forward as well.

Or the young 5-year-old boy with a swollen eye. His father, not knowing who to turn to, finds Glendale Healthy Kids and someone who will help make his boy well, someone who can help his boy see clearly again, someone who will save his boy’s life.

These are the stories we hear about almost everyday because of Glendale Healthy Kids. An organization full of dedicated healthcare providers, who provide services for these children at no cost to their families; of committed volunteers who share of themselves and their time to make sure children of low-income, underinsured families have access to needed healthcare and who teach them ways to prevent problems from even starting; of staff members who go above and beyond their job descriptions to help a child who needs help. All because they care about the children.

I invite you to get more information about Glendale Healthy Kids. On the left side of the page you will see a button to sign up for our newsletter. Before you do anything else, click on the button and start sharing with us our successes. If nothing else, you’ll know that not a day goes by that a child in need is not helped by Glendale Healthy Kids. All you have to do is give us your e-mail address and we’ll send you our newsletter and updates so you too can share in the success of Glendale Healthy Kids.

After you’ve seen what is being accomplished, I know you will want to help in some way. Maybe teach a first-grader how to brush his or her teeth, maybe help out at the USC Mobile Dental Clinic and meet a child just like Joseph, or maybe sit on the board helping to guide Glendale Healthy Kids to further serve the healthcare needs of our local children. The choice is yours, from a little to a lot, your help will be greatly appreciated and truly make a difference in this, your community.

Help us help ourselves and continue to make the community of Glendale and surrounding areas a place where no child goes unserved.

Brian Bergh, DDS, President
Board of Directors