It wasn't easy, but....

3.5 Miles for The Guinness World Record

We did it! On February 26th, 2019 more than 60 volunteers came together to lay down 41,769 toothbrushes to break the record for the longest line of toothbrushes.

Why We Did It

Did you know that tooth decay is the #1 chronic childhood illness in America? We didn't. We also discovered that...

  • 1 in 5 U.S. children go without dental care.
  • More than 40% of children have dental cavities by the time they reach kindergarten.
  • Dental care is the most prevalent unmet health care need for children with special needs.
  • Nearly one in three (31%) kindergartners and nearly half (47%) of third graders have had at least one cavity. 
  • Only 56% of Colorado children six and younger visited the dentist in the past year.
  • Children with poor oral health are 3 times more likely to miss school as a result of dental pain which means that Colorado children miss thousands of school hours every year because of preventable complications of cavities, which makes it harder for them to learn and can affect academic achievement.

We knew that we could do something about it. But not alone. With a team. Our sponsors provided the toothbrushes. Walmart provided the toothpaste. The Ranch Event Complex in Larimer County provided the space. Our volunteers provided the labor. Volunteers laid down toothbrushes, walked the line to make sure there were no gaps, and counted toothbrushes. Licensed surveyors volunteered their expertise to give us an official measurement. 

It was truly an event that took a village... or an army... an army of people who love their community and willing to put their backs on line to help it (uh yeah, the event involved a lot of bending over!) 

Add up all our efforts, and this is what we accomplished....

55k

TOOTHBRUSHES

16k

TUBES OF TOOTHPASTE

60

VOLUNTEERS

28

ORGANIZATIONS HELPED

Who We Helped

Our toothbrushes were sent to organizations through the state of Colorado. 

Denver/Metro

Action Center

A Precious Child

Aurora Day Center

Colfax Community Center

Food Bank of the Rockies

Metro Caring

Mile High Behavior Health


Northern Colorado

Alternatives to Violence

Community Kitchen

Estespak

Food Share

Fort Collins Rescue Mission

Homeless 137

Homeless Alliance

House of Neighborly Services

Kids Pak

Larimer County FoodBank

McBackpack

Sunrise Community Health

Thompson School Disctrict

United Way of Weld County

Weld County Food Bank


Statewide

Blessing in a Backpack

Care and Share for Southerm Colorado

Christian Action Guild

Community Food Share

Golden Backpack

Platueau Valley Elementary


This event was spearheaded by Sharon Lipinski, Executive Director of Change Gangs: Virtual Giving Circles, and Christine Forster, CEO of My Big Day Events. For more information about the event or interview requests, email sharon@changegangs.com

Photos

For more photos or larger versions of these photos, pop over to the photo album on our Facebook page. Got a picture from the event you'd like to share? Send it to sharon@changegangs.com

Our deepest gratitude to all the amazing people who made this possible!

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead