Orthodontics by the Burris Team

JONESBORO, Arkansas (Oct. 31, 2011) — The Jonesboro, AR charter of Smile for a Lifetime (S4L) awarded its 100th Orthodontic Scholarship on Friday to Luís Mazariegos. In less than three years, the Jonesboro chapter of S4L, has awarded over $600,000 in orthodontic scholarships to underserved children changing lives one smile at a time.

In 2008, in an effort to reach out to his local community and provide pro-bono orthodontic scholarships for children who could not afford braces, Dr. Benjamin Burris was inspired to start a local non-profit called Smile for a Lifetime Foundation.

One year later, S4L became a National non-profit equipping local orthodontists with the resources and tools necessary to develop their own local chapters.

About Smile for a Lifetime Foundation
The mission of S4L is to create self-confidence, inspire hope and change the lives of children in their communities in a dramatic way. The gift of a smile can do all this for a deserving, underserved individual who, in turn, can use this gift to better themselves and their community. During treatment, many S4L local chapters also encourage scholarship recipients to participate in community service through a “pay it forward” program inspiring young people to participate in life-long giving.

Currently, there are 90 chapters in 30 states across the U.S. with movement to increase those numbers to over 200 chapters, covering 50 states and Canada in the next five years. Each chapter commits to serve at least six or more young people annually. By the end of 2012, some 800 to 1000 young people will have received the gift of a smile with over four to six million dollars of orthodontic services donated.