ALTRUSA International Club of Elgin

The Altrusa International Club of Elgin has initiated a new "Chews to Read" literacy-based service project in collaboration with the Dental Clinic of Greater Elgin Family Care Center located at 450 Dundee Avenue in Elgin. It has been proven that students in the United States miss 51 million hours of school instruction every year because of dental health problems. Students who are consistently absent do not receive critical instruction time, especially those in the early grades where reading skills are an important focus and the building blocks to future learning. To raise awareness of this problem and to build good oral health and literacy habits, the dental health professionals of Greater Elgin Family Care Center and the Altrusa Club of Elgin are encouraging children and their parents to brush their teeth for 2 minutes, 2 times per day, and read for 20 minutes. In addition to the oral health care items provided by the clinic, every new patient under the age of 7 will receive an Altrusa "Chews to Read" Bag filled with a dental health themed book, a brushing and reading calendar, a stuffed animal or game, and a suggested book list. This project is supported and funded by the Altrusa International Foundation of Elgin, Illinois, Inc.