The Starr Foundation, a longtime supporter of NYU programs and initiatives, has made a second grant of $250,000 to the Smiling Faces, Going Places mobile dental care program.

Since its launch in January 2000, the Smiling Faces, Going Places dental care program has performed nearly 7,000 pediatric procedures. Eighty percent of the children treated had no dental coverage and were treated for free. The children ranged in age from 2 to 14, and were primarily African-American, Hispanic, Haitian, Russian, and Asian. The Smiling Faces, Going Places van visits public schools, Head Start programs, day care centers, summer camps, and health fairs.

The Starr Foundation was established in 1955 by Cornelius Vander Starr, an insurance entrepreneur who founded the American International family of insurance companies, now known as AIG. The foundation has been an important benefactor of numerous not-for-profit organizations in New York City and throughout the United States.

“This latest, very generous gift demonstrates The Starr Foundation’s continued belief in NYUCD’s outreach goals,” said Dean Alfano. “When foundations of the caliber of The Starr Foundation, one of the most respected philanthropies in the world, support our initiatives, we know that we are on the right path.”