One of the most unique donations we’ve been given: Trailer from the “Dental Clinic” football games

Here’s a quick update on a(nother) fabulous donation to The VIllage:

A few weeks ago we were put in contact with Edwina Taylor, the Executive Director for Cahaba Valley Healthcare.  Evidently, they had a portable dental clinic ready to hand to us, due to a local dentist offering them space inside an actual office (CVH provides free medical and dental services all across our city).

The trailer is a bit historic. I remember by high school (Erwin High) playing in the “Dental Clinic Classic” football games when I was in high school. We actually won this  play-off game three years in a row- from 1990 through 1992 (not that anyone’s keeping score). You can check the stats right here. You’ll see that the “Dental Clinic” (as we called it) ran from 1948 until 1995. Then it was over.

Anyway, the ticket sales from the games used to go to fund free dental clinics placed throughout the city. All the labs were on trailers. The trailer above is one of the 15 or so that were in operation- so it’s a small piece of Birmingham memorabilia that we have been given. The lab is 45 feet long, 10 feet wide, and has three dental chairs- in addition to the x-ray equipment.

The shot above is one I took with a camera phone to pass on to the truck driver who will pull this thing this next week, so it’s not a very good shot. However, if you got close you could see the actual plaque mentioning the football games on the side of the right hand door.

We’ll place the lab at the new facility- and hope to put it in operation this Spring. The goal will be to provide extractions as well as cleaning and fillings for our residents of The Village- and others nearby in need.

The good people at Cahaba Valley Healthcare have provided us with lists and sheets and plans for everything we need. Now, we simply need to stock it, staff it, and do the ministry.

What can you do?

• Volunteer. We need to clean it, rebuild the deck (we took the wood!) that is in front of the trailer, and staff it. If you are a dentist, a hygienist, a cleaner, or a builder, we need your help.

• Give. We need supplies and money to run the lab. The clinic is valued at approximately $100,000. We’ll need about $15,000 worth of disposables to get rolling (we have all of the equipment, including an auto-clave and an x-ray machine- even a digital one!). We’ll start raising the resources- and open up when everything is in place.

• Pray. Pray for the right timing, for the right people, for the right resources…

By the way, we’ll have an open house at the new place on March 3, 2012 (a Saturday), from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. It will be “come and go.” You can see the clinic then.