Santa Rosa fundraiser boosts local dental surgery center for underserved children

More than 150 people dined April 12 at Santa Rosa’s Balletto Vineyards to celebrate local heroes who’ve helped a Sonoma County initiative provide underserved children with healthy smiles through dental work and education.

The annual Make Kids Smile Awards Dinner featured live and silent auctions and a raffle, raising about $180,000 for Pediatric Dental Initiative’s surgery center in Windsor, according to Tara Good-Young, the nonprofit’s executive director.

The annual event, which dates back to the surgery center’s initial capital campaign in 2007, honored three people who have supported the nonprofit’s mission to treat underserved children who have overwhelming tooth decay, as well as educate families on the importance of childhood dental health, Good-Young said.

Rich Coombs, board member of the Schulz Celebrity Golf Classic, was given the Community Children’s Champion award for his work supporting Pediatric Dental Initiative and other local children’s charities through the annual fundraising golf tournament.

Dr. Kevin Tomfohrde, Pediatric Dental Initiative’s medical director, and Dr. Mark Hagele, its dental director, were named Make Kids Smile Heroes for their work at the surgery center. Since 2008, the center has served nearly 30,000 children from Sonoma County and more than 30 other counties in California, Good-Young said.

Guests dined on pork tenderloin and butternut squash lasagna from Bianchi Catering Co., served alongside Balletto wines, before they bid on items like an Italian vacation during a live auction hosted by local auctioneer Ken Cunningham and former Press Democrat columnist Chris Smith.

Funds from the event will help the surgery center upgrade equipment, including an anesthesia cart for one of its two operating rooms, as well as help bridge the financial gaps for families coming to the center.

For more information, go to pdisurgerycenter.org.