Residents gathered at Indiana University Northwest to partake in Marram Health Center’s annual Trunk or Treat. This free event provided music, refreshments, face painting, and tons of candy to kids and families.
The annual festivities are part of Marram’s mission to give back to the community outside of their usual services. Area businesses collaborated with Marram to participate in the event with various decorated vehicles and booths. Kids toured from car to car collecting their treats while volunteers dressed up and decorated their trunks with themes ranging from superheroes to horror.
“We want to provide everybody with a good time and family fun,” said Etha Lasenby, Community Outreach and Insurance Enrollment Coordinator for Marram Health Center. “We’re also trying to educate the community and trying to get some resources out there at the same time.”
Despite chilly and rainy weather, the groups of heroes, princesses, and other characters eagerly collected their goodies from volunteers.
While the main attraction for the kids was the candy awaiting them, families also received health information. Marram highlighted their recently expanded dental office hours and new dentist, Dr. Danté Brown. Anyone who made an appointment with Brown entered a raffle for a $50 Family Dollar gift card. My First Tooth, a Northwest Indiana Early Oral Healthcare Coalition, joined Marram in spotlighting dental health.
“Our mission is to ensure that our families are educated on how important oral health is,” said Laura Lovell, Chair of My First Tooth Early Oral Healthcare Coalition. “Our goal is to get children to have their first dental appointment between the ages of 12 months and 15 months. Some people don’t take their children until the age of 3 and by that time they have cavities and other ailments. They might lose teeth, but their gums still stay.”
Other partners included IUN fraternities and sororities, along with other local businesses including the recently opened Beggar’s Pizza Gary location.
“We want to help the kids and put a smile on their face,” said Quentin Grant, owner of Gary’s Beggar Pizza. “We want to make a positive impact on the community. We’ve only been open for about a month. I’ve got a heart for kids, and I’d rather they get candy from here than trick or treat on their own at night.”
To learn more about Marram Health Center and their newly expanded dental clinic, visit www.marramhealth.org.
