For the past two summers, SCL has been privileged to have the industrious assistance of volunteer Ekta Patel supporting our staff at our headquarters in Kansas City, MO. A Kansas City native, Ekta is now in her last year of undergraduate study at Wake Forest University and has aspirations to attend dental school with further graduate work in orthodontics.
Ekta first learned about SCL from a former staff member who was also a college sorority sister. Etka reports, “Her stories about SCL and its efforts to provide orthodontic care to children drew my interest immediately, and I was very excited to get involved with the volunteer program. After working with the staff and having heard the stories of the children whose lives have changed through the program, I knew I had found something truly special.”
And SCL had found someone special in Ekta, who willingly contributed her time during two summer breaks from school to support SCL staff in efforts to match children with orthodontic providers, promote the program with families and recruit more orthodontic providers to treat children—all ultimately leading to more kids being braced for a better future!
“I have had a wide breadth of volunteer opportunities, however I have to say that volunteering with SCL is truly the best experience I’ve ever had. SCL is a family – from the employees, doctors and volunteers to the participants. As a volunteer you know you are part of this family, and that you truly do have an opportunity to make a difference in a child’s life,” Ekta shares.
Ekta also had the opportunity to be a summer intern with SCL orthodontic provider Dr. Steven Hechler, in Overland Park, KS, and witnessed the treatment of SCL participants firsthand.
“The faces of the participants and the care that Dr. Hechler and his team have towards them is amazing. I know that through these providers, SCL truly does change lives!”