A major gift from BMO will support community dental care while making it easier for more people to train to become in-demand Certified Dental Assistants (CDAs).
BMO has donated $250,000 to Okanagan College’s (OC) Our Students, Your Health campaign.
The gift supports the Certified Dental Assistants (CDA) program.
OC’s state-of-the-art dental suite, used for training and as a community clinic, will receive $150,000.
An additional $100,000 will kickstart a hands-on learning pilot program enabling participants to become CDAs while they continue to work.
“We’re beyond grateful to BMO and its commitment to supporting a healthy community,” said Helen Jackman, executive director of the OC Foundation.
The third floor of OC’s Health Sciences Centre is named the BMO Dental Health Floor in recognition of the donation.
According to the BC Dental Association, CDAs are in high demand across B.C. with an estimated 800 current openings.
“This gift will remove barriers to education and support greater access to quality dental care, helping our employees, our customers, and communities we serve,” said John Duff, regional vice president, BC and Yukon Region, BMO.
The donation is part of an ongoing fundraiser. More than 90 Okanagan dental clinics have donated precious metals and cash to the OC Foundation making it possible to educate an additional 24 CDA students in 2023-2024.
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