October marks the kickoff of USC's Good Neighbors Campaign.  The annual fundraiser solicits donations from University faculty, staff and students to benefit programs serving the neighborhoods surrounding the University Park and Health Sciences Campuses.

The School of Dentistry's Neighborhood Mobile Dental Clinic receives support to provide oral health screening for kindergarten and first-grade school children at USC partner schools.   An additional grant also supports the clinic's preventative  dentistry efforts at local elementary and high schools.

Support from School of Dentistry faculty, staff and students was strong in 2006.  The school ranked fifth in donations and ninth in percentage of participation.  Meredythe Mann, a member of the school's GNC campaign committee,  hopes to improve on those numbers.

"It is a wonderful campaign that directly benefits our programs and our community.  This year,  we are hoping to have our best campaign effort ever," says Mann.

The school's effort will officially commence on October 4 with a special GNC 2007 Kick Off Celebration in Rutherford Hall at 12:00 pm.  Everyone is encouraged to attend.

For more information on the Good Neighbors Campaign, visit:

http://www.usc.edu/ext-relations/gnc/