President’s Message

Improving the Dental Health of Our Community

By Wesley Yee, DDS

2022 SDDS President

The Sacramento District Dental Foundation is dear to my heart and to many of you. As a long-time Foundation supporter, I first became actively involved with our SDDF Gala in 2005. Through your generous participation, we net $100,000 and added it to the Foundation projects budgets (at that time it was Smiles for Kids only); this was our first big Foundation fundraiser. We have since held two more Galas, in 2014 and 2019. Your $75 SDDF membership dues, Crowns for Kids donations (scrap precious metals), memorial donations, golf tournament participation, grants, contributions and prudent investment guidelines have grown our Foundation. I am grateful for the foresight of our visionary and generous leaders, who began our Foundation over 53 years ago. In the past 20 years, our Foundation has grown exponentially (see the Annual Report financial report on page 25). Our upcoming SDDF Golf Tournament on May 6 at Ancil Hoffman Golf Course will be another fun get-together and a challenge for golfers of all abilities. The camaraderie, great food, beverages, and laughs are good for the soul. You will also get a chance to win some cool stuff from our generous vendors on the course. There’s no way to lose on this wonderful outing and a great way to start the weekend! Limited spots are still available – so please call SDDS. When I served on the SDDF Board in 2010, I realized how important and how successful our outreach, dental health educational programs and pro-bono programs is in serving all 5 SDDS counties. Our SDDF’s mission of promoting the oral and general health of the public by serving as the charitable arm of the SDDS was an important factor in my becoming involved in leadership. When you support the SDDF, you help to improve the dental health of your community and strengthen our position as leaders in the community. After observing first-hand our work of the Foundation, my father and I wanted to do more. We chose the SDDF to endow the Yee Family Dental Scholarship for California State University-Sacramento seniors admitted to dental school. We usually award one to two $2500 scholarships a year. Although none of our family attended CSUS, we felt the need was more urgent here. The CSUS Pre-Dental Club is a wonderful partner with SDDS, helping us staff Midwinter Convention, and working with us on Smiles for Kids. Each year their fundraisers help purchase backpacks for each of the SFK recipients. The scholarship assists first year dental students with their high cost of education. Several other SDDS members and their families have made contributions to our endowment as well. The very first ‘jump start’ we received was from the family of Past President Dr. Jim Oates – thanks Dr. Oates! Please contact Cathy at the SDDS Office if you’d like to consider making a donation. If you want to see your donations or bequests well spent, the SDDF is your best bang for the buck. So, join us in continuing the great work of our SDDF. As I paraphrase from President John F. Kennedy; “Ask not what your Dental Foundation can do for you, but what you can do for your Foundation.” 

Mark Your Calendars Shred Day - Sept 16th!

An event specifically to thank our Foundation members and help all members get rid of that pesky shredding.

Visit our website and check your email for more information coming soon.

Cost: Free to SDDS Foundation members and $100 for everyone else (if you have over 10 banker boxes we’d appreciate an additional $100 donation to the Foundation).