The BDA Benevolent Fund is looking for your help this Christmas to support colleagues who are suffering.
The charity that supports dentists in financial crisis has experienced almost double the number of applications for help this year when compared with the same period in 2015, despite the number of donations remaining the same.
As Christmas is quickly approaching, the BDA Benevolent Fund is reaching out to the profession to ask for donations over the festive period and to remember those colleagues who may need your support.
‘I don’t know if the increased figures signal a new trend that there will be a higher need going forward, but certainly the present climate has not helped,’ Professor Nairn Wilson, spokesperson for the BDA Benevolent Fund, said.
‘I’d suggest one of the reasons dentists find themselves in trouble is because it can be a stressful job and many experience an emotional crisis.
‘That’s nothing to be ashamed of, it could easily be any one of us.
‘It is actually frightening how quickly things can take a turn for the worse, creating an absolute need for help rebuilding lives.’
If we don’t help, who is going to?
All money raised goes directly to the fund’s beneficiaries with the aim of getting them back on their feet and into employment.
Last year over 60% of grant recipients were helped with returning to work or became financially independent, according to the BDA Benevolent Fund, with £324,911 being paid out in grants to 111 dentists and their families.
‘The BDA Benevolent Fund is run by dentists for dentists through voluntary donations,’ Professor Wilson continued.
‘If we in dentistry don’t give, who is going to?
‘There are many worthwhile dental charities, but this one is very much focused on helping dentists at all levels and I think it reflects well on our professional status, and us as individuals, if we can provide much needed help for those who are suffering beyond hardship and have fallen into an untenable lifestyle, for the most part through no fault of their own.
‘I personally believe that we’re in a profession that helps and supports one another and giving to the BDA Benevolent Fund is a way to fulfil that duty of care.’
How to make a donation
Each application to the BDA Benevolent Fund is carefully assessed to ensure donations meet the applicant’s needs.
Professor Ros Keeton, treasurer for the BDA Benevolent fund, outlined some situations where the charity has helped:
- Incapacity due to illness
- Work-related issues such as redundancy, stress, anxiety and bullying
- Bereavement
- Personal insolvency and/or issues managing personal debt
- Domestic violence
- Family breakdown and separation
- Addictions such as drugs, alcohol and gambling.
To make a donation visit www.justgiving.com/bdabenevolentfund, text DENT15 followed by the amount in £s to 70070 or send cheques payable to ‘BDA Benevolent Fund’ to BDA Benevolent Fund, 64 Wimpole Street, London, W1G 8YS.
To find out more information about the BDA Benevolent Fund visit www.bdabenevolentfund.org.uk.
