Partnership provides students with information and tools to help improve their oral health and overall health & wellbeing – while enhancing their soccer skills
As summer fades to memory, students across the country are returning to school, studies, and recreational sports programs, including youth soccer. Today the Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures (BSBF) oral health education initiative announced that it is teaming up with the U.S. Soccer Foundation’s Soccer for Success program for a partnership focused on the links between oral health and overall health and wellbeing. The initiative will provide children with information and tools to help improve their oral health and overall health and wellbeing, while enhancing their soccer skills.
There are approximately three million youth soccer players in the U.S.1, making it the nation's largest youth sport. As part of the Colgate BSBF and Soccer for Success partnership, trained coach-mentors will lead youth in soccer drills embedded with nutrition, physical activity, youth development – and, importantly, oral health lessons. Families and coach-mentors will also receive resources to help build healthy oral health and hygiene habits at home. The collaboration launched a pilot program late last year in New York City and in Whittier, CA in late spring with a kickoff soccer jamboree. The program will roll out in additional cities across the United States in 2024.
Oral health is often overlooked, even though an estimated 3.5 billion people currently suffer from oral diseases. Despite there being proven strategies for prevention, cavities remain the most prevalent chronic disease among adults and children, and it is estimated that 2.3 billion people suffer from tooth decay.
Established in 1991, Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures has reached more than 1.6 billion children and their families in over 100 countries, providing free oral health and well-being education, dental screenings, and treatment referrals in order to advance brighter, healthier futures. In the United States, it maintains a fleet of mobile dental vans that visit nearly 1,000 cities and towns each year, reaching millions of children.
"Teaming up with the U.S. Soccer Foundation helps Colgate BSBF further its commitment to reach children and their families where they learn and play," explains Dr. Gillian Barclay, Vice President, Global Oral Health and Scientific Affairs, Colgate-Palmolive Company. "Our collaboration provides Colgate with another opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of oral health and its links to overall health and well-being, and to teach children practices that, over the course of their lifetime, improve health outcomes."
The U.S. Soccer Foundation has been working to grow soccer in the U.S. since 1994, establishing programs that leverage the sport's appeal to dismantle disparities and improve the health and well-being of youth in underserved areas. Through its signature program, Soccer for Success, the Foundation has reached more than 700,000 youth since its inception, helping them to establish positive social, emotional, and physical health behaviors and develop critical life skills.
“We’re thrilled to continue our partnership with Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures to ensure that more youth learn important oral health practices alongside other important healthy habits and critical life skills as the links cannot be overlooked,” said Ed Foster-Simeon, President & CEO of the U.S. Soccer Foundation. “Together, we can help ensure the next generation is equipped with the resources and tools to live healthy lives.”
To learn more about Colgate BSBF resources for parents, teachers, and children, visit www.colgatebsbf.com. Additional information about the U.S. Soccer Foundation is available at www.ussoccerfoundation.org.
