The Rainbow Centre Dental Clinic received a much needed boost today with a cheque of $20,800 from Specialist Dental Group to help with its operating costs.
According to June Tham, Executive Director of the Rainbow Centre, “The dental clinic at Rainbow Centre is not funded by any source, and hence, the donation by Specialist Dental Group is certainly very welcome.”
[Photo: Lee Wee Song and Professor Lee Eng Hin from the Rainbow Centre, Moonlake Lee, Dr Elizabeth Tan, Dr Helena Lee and the nurses from Specialist Dental Group]
“Specialist Dental Group celebrates its 33rd anniversary this month and we thought it would be a meaningful way to commemorate our anniversary and also contribute to a very worthy cause,” says Dr Helena Lee, Specialist in Periodontics with SDG. Dr Lee’s father, the late Dr Henry Lee, founded the clinic in 1979, and the Group has grown to three clinics at the Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre with a team of nine dental specialists covering five specialty areas of dentistry. The clinic’s dentists have, individually and corporately, consistently donated to charitable causes over the years.
According to Dr Lee, “The Rainbow Centre Dental Clinic is close to our heart as Dr Elizabeth Tan, our Specialist in Paediatric Dentistry, has been a volunteer dentist with the Rainbow Centre for 13 years. Our team of paediatric dental nurses also assist Dr Tan with patients on a monthly basis at the Rainbow Centre.” The fundraising initiative originated with the SDG nurses who decided to replace their usual Christmas gift exchange with an activity that would benefit a charitable cause. They selected the Rainbow Centre to be the beneficiary, and one thing led to another, and the donations snowballed when the dentists contributed generously, and were matched by SDG management.
“Dr Tan, along with Dr Myra Elliot, initiated the setting up of the dental clinic to provide dental screening and treatment to all the students at the Rainbow Centre. Through her efforts and the efforts of our dedicated volunteer dentists, our 900 students are able to access affordable quality dental services,” says June Tham, Executive Director of the Rainbow Centre. The Rainbow Dental Clinic was launched in 1999. The clinic is part of the holistic approach to intervention at Rainbow Centre to serve the health needs of their students.
History of Giving
The donation to the Rainbow Centre is the latest in the charitable work and contributions of Specialist Dental Group dental specialists and staff that dates back over 30 years when the clinic’s late founder, Dr Henry Lee donated a dental chair and equipment to first set up the dental clinic at the Ling Kwang Home for the Aged many years ago. He also strongly believed in the work of Boys’ Town Singapore and gave free treatment to the Brothers who ran it as well as donated regularly.
Two years ago, Dr Helena Lee donated $20,000 to the National University of Singapore to establish the Gold Medal for Distinction in the Master of Dental Surgery program in Oral Surgery, in honour of her late father, Dr Henry Lee. She has been supporting The Straits Times Pocket Money Fund almost every year since its inception. When she had her second child this year, she also matched all the red packets donated for the baby’s full moon and donated the amount to Boys Town, because they were desperately raising money to complete their re-building effort.
As a clinic, Specialist Dental Group has supported the Canadian Association of Singapore’s Annual Teddy Bear and Toy Drive to support the KK Hospital Endowment Fund for several years, donated funds to the Singapore Cancer Society as part of the Terry Fox Run, donated blood in the hospital blood drive, supported World Vision’s Life Changing Gifts’ and Child, Sponsorship Campaign, donated to the North East Lunch Box Fund, supported the Philippines Typhoon Donation, and other donations for disaster relief.
About Specialist Dental Group
Specialist Dental Group (SDG) is an award-winning specialty dental practice in Singapore. SDG’s strength lies in its ability to provide comprehensive specialist care for complex dental cases, where patients can access leading specialists from different specialty areas of dentistry with one appointment.
SDG was the Recipient of “Best Healthcare Experience” in the Singapore Experience Awards 2012 and Winner of “Promising Brands” in the Singapore Prestige Brand Award 2011. Key specialty services provided include dental implants, crowns, gum treatment, oral and jaw surgery, braces, Invisalign and children’s dentistry. The SDG clinical team is active in teaching and training dentists and specialists in Singapore and the region. For more information, visit www.specialistdentalgroup.com
About Rainbow Centre
The Rainbow Centre runs an Early Intervention Program for children and two special needs schools – Rainbow Centre – Margaret Drive School and Rainbow Centre – Yishun Park School. The schools serve 900 children with a diverse range of special needs ranging from Downs Syndrome, cerebral palsy, global developmental delay, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and multiple disabilities.
The Rainbow Centre was established in 1992 and is a charity registered under the Charities Act. It is an Institution of Public Character (IPC) and a full member of the National Council of Social Service. For more information, please visit http://www.rainbowcentre.org.sg/
