Earlier today, the CEO Club at UTC (that’s us…) announced to the Creating the Winds of Change contestants that out of all the ideas submitted, Planet Smile by Chris Morrison took the cake! Sadly, there wasn’t any actual cake. For anyone. Chris Morrison, an Entrepreneurship student graduating this December, presented an initiative that will truly make you smile.
Chris shortly after hearing that he won...
Upon notice of this contest, Chris began wondering how he could possibly make a difference in his community. As a part time employee and full time student, he didn’t feel he had the resources to make a difference. But that was the challenge we put forth: what can you do with what you have to make a difference?
Remembering all the people he had heard speak of taking mission trips around the world, he realized they always noted a need for improved dental hygiene. A little research revealed to Chris just how widespread this problem is.
Various organizations, like Dentists Without Borders, work to improve the dental hygiene of people in need by traveling to various locations to give aid. However, the supplies needed aren’t free for the organizations administering aid, and they aren’t accessible for the people who need them most. A toothbrush can prevent the onset of horrible infections and tooth decay. It can affect overall health. To you and me, a toothbrush is a couple bucks, an assumption, an afterthought. To someone who has never brushed their teeth, a toothbrush could change their life.
So how do we give them toothbrushes?
How often do you use any of the items in the dental hygiene baggy you get after a dental appointment? Maybe they get stashed with your travel size items or put in your guest bathroom. Generally, we all go out and buy our preferred toothbrushes and toothpaste instead.
With this in mind, Chris dreamt up Planet Smile, an initiative to partner with dentists throughout the community to donate those dental hygiene kits that get left behind. Rather than sending every patient home with something they won’t use, dentists will ask if the patient would instead like to donate her kit to Planet Smile. Planet Smile will also partner with local organizations and community health centers that have direct contact with people needing dental supplies, so the donated supplies go directly to them. It’s a simple process of getting patients to donate what they typically don’t want, then getting those donations to the right organizations for distribution.
What makes Planet Smile truly resourceful is the supplies are already available and simply need to be relocated. Chris is truly a social entrepreneur. He saw a need and wanted to do something about it, not only in the local community but also in the global community. That vision for growth to a global scale is what made Chris’s initiative stand out among the crowd.
The Company Lab committed $500 to the contest winner, so Chris has been provided with $500 towards the implementation of Planet Smile. Chattanooga Stand will be partnering with Chris, helping him make connections with local movers and shakers to get this idea in progress. He is now a bona fide Member of the CEO Club, at no charge to him. Rock Creek Outfitters contributed a free Keen courier bag for all his important business plans (and the donated toothbrushes he’ll be running around with). With all the publicity he’s getting, he should be upper class by Tuesday.
Check back here to stay updated on where this initiative goes. You can also follow us on Twitter or connect with us on Facebook to stay posted. We can’t wait to see Planet Smile get up and running! So again…
CONGRATULATIONS CHRIS!
- Emma Smith, Leadership Team
