Dentist Surprises Marine Corps

PHOENIX, March 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- It's not unusual for a business owner to support a charity, especially during the holidays. What is unusual is for a business owner to provide that support "silently" and without fanfare.

Dr. Eric Kerbs, DDS, surprised the Marine Corps and the Toys for Tots program. He had collected money during the holidays for the program and now wanted to give a check for $5,000 to the Marines. He didn't know who to call so he asked a friend and Marine (there are no "former" Marines) if he would help. The Toys for Tots foundation sent Lance Corporal Michael Deem to accept the check. Lance Corporal Deem said, "Not being contacted beforehand is very unusual. In my almost 5 years in the Marine Corps doing a lot of Toys for Tots events and a lot of community events this has never happened before. We're usually contacted in October so we can provide support. This is huge. This last season we didn't have that big of a turnout, given the economy and all. So this $5,000 we're getting today is absolutely huge and will help a lot of kids."

Dr. Eric Kerbs owns 8 dental practices in the Phoenix East Valley, AZ. He and his team decided to "put some smiles on kids faces" for the holidays. Yes, that's a play on words. Kerbs says that usually what he means is making kids smiles nicer-looking and more healthy. This holiday season they wanted to literally make kids smile.

He and the team decided to support the Marine Corps Toys for Tots program. Kerbs' idea was to provide new patients with a General Cleaning, X-Rays and Exam by a dentist at $25; that's a very reasonable amount and much lower than many other dental offices charge. They would donate $5 of that fee to the Marine Foundation's Toys for Tots program.  

Dr. Kerbs didn't tell the Marine Corps or the Toys for Tots program. His offices just went ahead and did this. He didn't ask for news coverage or any promotion. His practices advertised this "reduced fee" and when new patients came in they told them what they were doing. It cost the patient nothing to support this great program. One Google News Channel found about this and did a news story on December 15th. One patient said he'd seen the news story and was coming to their practice because he's a former Army soldier: "When I saw what Dr. Kerbs was doing that made me want to come in and support Toys for Tots."

On March 2, 2011, Dr. Kerbs handed over a check for $5,000 to Lance Corporal Deem of the US Marine Corps.

Lance Corporal Deem is headed to Afghanistan for combat duty. We wish him Godspeed, stay safe and Semper Fi.  

Resource: http://myfamilydentalcenters.com/  

Photo: Dr. Eric Kerb, DDS and Lance Corporal Deem USMC
http://www.ereleases.com/pic/MyFamilyDental.jpg

CONTACT:

Barbara Bates
Integra Management Company
[email protected]
480-442-6758

This press release was issued through eReleases(R).  For more information, visit eReleases Press Release Distribution at http://www.ereleases.com.

SOURCE My Family Dental Centers