"Whiten for Charity" Annual "Do Good" Campaign
Since 2016, the team at Marion Smile Center has raised more than $120,000 to benefit local organizations. At the beginning of each year, Dr. Marion and his team select a deserving local charity to “Do Good.”
Past local Zelienople-Harmony charities that they have raised funds for include: 
😁 Fire Department
😁 Food Bank
😁 Historical Society
😁 Library
😁 Park
😁 Pool
Dr. Marion’s team then contacts the selected charity and asks how they can best help. Oftentimes, the organization is trying to raise money for a special project. For example, one year, the Zelienople - Harmony Fire Department requested that we raise money to purchase a newer, better infra-red camera to help locate people and pets during fire and other rescues. This past year, the Historical Society needed funding to help paint and preserve the historical Buhl House.
Once they verify the IRS charitable status of the local organization, Marion Smile Center partners with the local charity and together they both reach out to the people in the community to inform them how they can whiten their teeth at Marion Smile Center, creating a more beautiful smile, AND help the charity. Marion Smile Center develops and prints signage, website banners, and social media campaigns. From March 1 through June 30, we give 100% of the proceeds from the donations that we receive during our WHITEN FOR CHARITY campaign. During this four-month campaign, patients whiten their teeth at our office. We donate our time and office. Opalescence, a global leader in professional teeth whitening, donates the product.
100% of our regular whitening fees are paid for by our patients directly to the Smiles for Life Foundation, a charity for underprivileged children. At the end of the four-month campaign period, the Smiles for Life Foundation tabulates the Marion Smile Center donations and sends one check to us to present to the local charity.
The following is a partial listing of the charities that Marion Smile Center and our patients have proudly helped.
A huge thank you to our community for helping us raise almost $7,000 during our 9th Annual Whiten for Charity campaign! Since 2016, Marion Smile Center has donated $120,000 to charity through its annual “Whiten for Charity” campaigns.
By professionally having your teeth whitened, you helped make an everlasting difference in our Zelienople-Harmony community. This year, half of the $7,000 proceeds are going towards kickstarting the NEW Zelienople Dog Park! The other portion of the proceeds will support children in need of dental care through the Smiles for Life foundation, ensuring brighter smiles for both our furry friends and the young members of our community. When you Whiten your Teeth during our fundraising, We Donate 💯% to Charity!
Marion Smile Center chose to donate this year’s charity fundraising proceeds toward funding a Zelienople Dog Park because we recognize the importance of fostering a pet-friendly environment in our community. What better way to honor our beloved employee, Jan Kirby, a former Marion Smile Center team member who was more like family and who dedicated 20 years of her life at Marion Smile Center serving Zelienople with love and care? Jan, a true pet enthusiast, whom passed away recently has left a lasting mark on our hearts and inspired us to do good in a meaningful way.
If you missed this year's 2024 Whiten for Charity campaign and want to be a part of next year's, mark your calendar: March 1st - June 30th. Proceeds from every whitening treatment or whitening product that you purchase at Marion Smile Center during our annual Whitening for Charity campaign will go 100% directly to charity. If you're interested in teeth whitening now, call our team at (724) 452-4300 to reserve time for a brighter smile, today! We have four (4) different whitening options to meet everyone's brightening needs: in-office whitening, custom made whitening trays, disposable whitening trays, or even refill whitening gel syringes if you already have custom trays. Our whitening solution is the strongest with the least sensitivity that you can purchase!
Remember “A smile is your greatest social asset!”
Dr. Mark A. Marion and the Marion Smile Center team received recognition at the annual Crown Council Conference in Austin, TX, on January 26th. This was for surpassing the remarkable $100,000 charity fundraising milestone. This achievement showcases the Zelienople Dentist's dedication to charity. They aim to make a positive impact on both local and global communities. Dr. Mark Marion has made several generous donations totaling more than $50,000 to support various Zelienople-Harmony organizations. This includes the Fire Department, Food Bank, Historical Society, Library, Park, and Pool.
The Smiles for Life Foundation also received more than $50,000 in donations from Dr. Mark Marion. This international charity’s mission is to provide dental care to those in need around the world.
It’s safe to say that Marion Smile Center’s 8th annual Whiten for Charity campaign has been yet another success! A huge thank you to our Zelienople - Harmony community and local specialists who donated $11,643 to whiten teeth for charity in 2023. During March 1 - June 30, 2023, Marion Smile Center raised $6,187 to help our local Zelienople – Harmony Public library expand and underprivileged children throughout the world with dental needs. In 2023, Dr. Mark Marion and his team reached their $10,000 pledge to the library by donating the remaining $2,798 toward the Children’s Wing addition to help give kids a fun space to learn and grow.
Since so many beautiful smiles whitened for charity this year, Marion Smile Center was able to also donate $2,541 to the local Zelienople Historical Society to assist in re-painting the Buhl House to help preserve the history in our beautiful town. The remaining $5,339 was donated to help underprivileged children all throughout the world with dental needs through the Smiles for Life Foundation.
To learn more about Teeth Whitening, click here.
With staggering statics with supporting the link between diabetes and poor oral health, Marion Smile Center providers have been researching and implementing cutting edge technology and testing to detect early stage gum disease. Long time patients and friends, the Escobar family was devastated with the diagnosis of their young daughter's Juvenile Diabetes diagnosis. They asked Dr. Marion if he would support the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.
At the invitation of the Escobars', Dr. Marion and his wife, Kimberly, attended a charitable event benefiting Juvenile Diabetes at the 31st Annual Gala at Westin Hotel in Pittsburgh, PA. Great cause, great event! Dr. Marion, among most health care providers, recognizes the scientific link between diabetes and dental health. Improving diabetes improves dental health and the opposite as well. Improving dental health improves diabetic, systematic, and overall health. The effects of good dental health on infection in the body have resulted in many M.D.s now requiring dental health assessments and removing any infection in the mouth before a patient can undergo a scheduled surgery. We are one of those offices that routinely performs these M.D. required dental examinations and any periodontal treatments needed to remove active infection in the mouth from spreading to the rest of the body, such as the heart. To learn more about Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International (JDRF) or to donate, click here.
In 2022, Marion Smile Center was able to raise $11,225 to benefit our local Zelienople - Harmony Public Library and underprivileged children throughout the world! When YOU Whiten your Teeth at Marion Smile Center, WE Donate 100% to Charity! Back in 2016, we were able to gift the Library $5,000 to help keep it running smoothly. This year they reached back out to us and Dr. Marion has pledged to donate $10,000 over the next few years to go directly to the Library to assist in funding a new 3,000 square foot addition and renovation. So far, we have raised $6,187 to go directly to the library, while $5,037 will go to the Smiles for Life foundation, which helps underprivileged children with dental needs. We are so excited to partner with the library again next year and raise the remaining $3,813 of our $10,000 pledge to give the children in our community a comfortable and welcoming new
Children’s Wing to help future generations learn, read, and grow!
To learn more about how you can Whiten Your Teeth for Charity, click here.
Dr. Mark Marion and his team went to Memphis, TN to work alongside RAM (Remote Area Medical) to help those who have been unable to afford dental care for years and in desperate need. In the past 35 years, RAM has been a blessing to many while providing free care for over 900,000 patients, totaling over $181.5 million in dental, vision, and medical services. RAM's free pop-up clinics provide quality services to underserved and uninsured individuals all over the U.S. who do not have access or cannot afford a doctor.
To learn more about doing good with RAM, click here. The other 1/2 of the 2022 funds raised were donated to the Smiles for Life Charity to help underprivileged children.
For many of us, including the team at Marion Smile Center, we were fortunate during the COVID pandemic to be able to keep working. As health care providers, we were considered an essential business and remained open to provide necessary dental treatment. However, many from the nearby areas lost their jobs or had reduced work schedules, causing financial hardships.
The wonderful volunteers at the local food bank informed us that the demand by local area residents for food at their site doubled during this time. That’s why we selected the Zelienople – Harmony Food Bank to be the Marion Smile Center 2021 annual WHITEN FOR CHARITY campaign recipient. Due to the generosity of our patients and commitment from our team, 1/2 of the total monies raised in 2021 were given to the Food Bank. This allowed the Food Bank to feed an additional 150 families for three months and purchase additional shelving needed to stock the extra food. The other 1/2 of the 2021 funds raised were donated to the Smiles for Life Charity to help underprivileged children.
As part of our annual charitable contributions, we raised more than $10,500 to benefit the Smiles for Life Foundation, which supports dental humanitarian efforts. Our team planned on volunteering time at a Dominican Republic dental clinic to provide free dental care. Due to COVID travel restrictions, our dental humanitarian trip to the Dominican Republic was rescheduled twice, then moved to Honduras, and eventually cancelled due to Honduras being considered too dangerous at that time for travel. However, the organization is a worthy one and the donations were used to fund future dental clinics.
As part of our annual charitable contributions, we raised more than $16,500 to benefit the local fire department, Harmony Fire District 22, and the Smiles for Life Foundation. We asked the fire department volunteers how we could best help them help others. They responded with the request to fund the purchase of newer and better camera equipment. This equipment can locate people and pets in burning houses, find people thrown from their vehicles in car accidents at night, and help firefighters find their way out of smoke-filled buildings. The money we raised was sufficient to purchase one new camera.
As part of our annual charitable contributions, we raised almost $15,000 to benefit the Zelienople Community Park and the Smiles for Life Foundation.
The Zelienople Community Park features baseball fields, walking and mountain bike trails, pickleball courts, a playground, skatepark, pool, shelters, and an amphitheater. Marion Smile Center earmarked its donation to fund the adaptive play area, so children with special needs can enjoy playing there, as well.
As part of our annual charitable contributions, we have raised over $13,000 that will benefit the Zelienople Community Pool and the Smiles for Life Foundation.
The recent Zelienople Community Pool renovations made it an even better place for local people to swim and play. There is a diving board, slide, sitting area, floats in the pool, new kiddie area, and lounge chairs. With a concession stand and tables to sit, it makes for a beautiful way to spend a warm summer day. For decades now, local children have learned to swim at this community pool, including Dr. Marion’s own children. We are proud to POOL together and contribute to this great community asset!
As part of our annual charity campaign, we raised almost $11,000, with 50% of it going to our local Zelienople Library and the remainder to Smiles for Life Foundation. Shrinking municipal budgets combined with the exponential growth of technology in recent years makes the cultural and community offerings at public libraries more important than ever.
The Zelienople Library does incredible work strengthening our community and enhancing our cultural experiences. New moms have a chance to connect at story times for babies; elderly people, often facing life transitions, attend events and make new friends; teenagers have a safe, productive place to meet up after school; and readers can get together to discuss books and current events.
To assist in starting the build for Butler County Family YMCA, Dr. Marion “does good” for his local community and donates $10,000 personally. He pledged the $10,000 over a 5-year period in $2,000 annual donations and fulfilled that pledge. He was honored with a plaque in the entrance of the YMCA beautiful new facility. With health a primary concern for Dr. Marion, it was an easy decision to make. Besides, he was one of the founding leaders from our community that helped bring the new YMCA to fruition. Thanks Dr. Marion for your vision, leadership, and personal donation.
