Kellogg Community College’s Dental Hygiene Department received a $500 donation last month from United Educational Credit Union to use toward a community service project at S.A.F.E. Place shelter in Battle Creek.
The donation, formally presented to dental hygiene students at the College by Scott White, business development manager at UECU, on Feb. 26, will be used by the students to purchase supplies for converting a storage room at S.A.F.E. Place into a bedroom.
Bridget Korpela, a dental hygiene instructor at KCC and advisor to the KCC chapter of the Student American Dental Hygiene Association, said the converted room will provide space for four people to sleep comfortably at the shelter.
“The funding from the UECU has allowed us to do much more for the conversion of this room into something that will be very comfortable and pleasant for the residents of S.A.F.E. Place shelter,” Korpela said. “We will be painting the walls, varnishing the floor, installing lighting and storage shelving and assembling and dressing the beds.”
The dental hygiene students will purchase all the supplies and furnishings for the project except for the beds, Korpela said. The UECU donation covers the cost of most supplies; any funds left over from the project will be used toward toiletries collected into small backpacks and given to shelter residents.
Students will work on the project from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, March 7, and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. or until finished on Saturday, March 8.
For more information or to donate to the project, contact Korpela 269-965-3931 ext. 2325 or korpelab@kellogg.edu.
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