SNOQUALMIE, Wash. , (Oct. 26, 2000)
Optiva Corporation, maker of the Sonicare® sonic toothbrush, today announced the winner of the company's "Tooth Fairy Award" contest. Dr. Sherwin Shinn, D.D.S., of Issaquah, Wash. was recognized for his extensive humanitarian outreach programs that provide professional dental services to children in remote and isolated areas of the world.
As part of the award, Optiva will donate $10,000 to Dr. Shinn's charity of choice, the Seattle-based Chamber Rinks Foundation, which funds health care crisis intervention programs.
"Optiva is thrilled to recognize and encourage the amazing altruistic efforts of Dr. Shinn," said Jack Gallagher, Optiva's president and COO. "The manner in which he's donated his professional skills symbolizes the type of work we wanted to honor with this award."
For the past 10 years, Dr. Shinn has paid his own way to travel across the globe to remote villages in countries such as Tibet and Nepal. He spends almost two months every year donating his professional time to treat children in orphanages, implementing dental sealant programs, and providing locals with dental and health care supplies. On average, Dr. Shinn donates his professional skills to more than 2,000 people each year.
"In many of the villages I travel to, no one has ever seen a toothbrush" said Dr. Shinn. "My goal is to teach them about healthy lifelong dental habits so they can become self-sufficient and care for themselves."
Dr. Shinn also is making a difference in the schools near his Issaquah dental practice. Last year, he worked with more than 4,000 school children and teachers to share his outreach experiences. Many classrooms have begun their own programs to donate school supplies, clothes and books for Dr. Shinn to take with him abroad.
"When I show the classrooms photos of the children in other countries receiving their goods, the warm feeling of giving really comes full circle because they can see from the photos the difference they made in the lives of those less fortunate."
Optiva created the Tooth Fairy Award to recognize a dental professional who has donated his or her professional skills to charity. To be eligible, nominees must hold a professional dental degree, uphold admirable ethical and professional standards and donate their professional skills to treat patients as a regular part of the charitable service for which they are nominated.
In addition to donating $10,000 to the winner's charity of choice, Optiva will also provide Dr. Shinn with a cash award of $5,000. Snoqualmie-based Optiva Corporation was initially funded in part by a grant from the National Institute of Health. The company was recently acquired by Philips Domestic Appliances and Personal Care (DAP), a division of Royal Philips Electronics (AEX: PHI, NYSE: PHG).
