Mission Work
A Passion for Helping Others
Dr. Blum feels very fortunate to have had the opportunity to use his dental skills, and help people who have not had access to dental care. He’s equally excited about our new associate joining Blum & Tinsley Dental Clinic, Dr. Michael L. Tinsley, who joined him in Guatemala on a mission trip.
"I observed his skills, both technical and with patients, develop, and when he graduated, I was proud to have him join my practice," Blum states.
Because of Dr. Blum’s longstanding commitment to the provision of care to the less fortunate, he considered funding an endowed scholarship that would be awarded to a student committed to serving others through participation either in local missions for the needy or in humanitarian missions in other countries that do not have readily available dental care.
Dr. Blum knows from personal experience that mission work not only provides valuable real-life experiences but it also instills a spirit of lifelong volunteerism. While in dental school, he and his dental partner and classmate Billy Beeson volunteered every third Monday evening to help staff the local Baptist mission dental clinic for the community’s indigent population. They spent their entire senior year working at the mission. That, Dr. Blum says, “was a valuable experience that allowed me to help others with the skills I was learning in school.”
William J. Blum, DDS, Missions Scholarship
Blum is a strong believer that one’s dental practices should be spread to people around the world whom are less fortunate and do not have the opportunity or resources for such care. This belief led to him create the William J. Blum, DDS, Missions Scholarship through the OU College of Dentistry in the fall of 2009.
Each year the scholarship is awarded to a student who has demonstrated commitment to performing community service or participating in mission trips, and is making satisfactory progress toward graduation.
“My reason for giving a scholarship to a student involved in missions was to encourage mission work early in their career in hopes they will continue the behavior into their practice years. This includes foreign dentistry and local involvement with organizations such as Norman’s Health for Friends, in which students are already involved. There is an entirely different reward for doing this type of work as opposed to your normal practice rewards.” — Dr. Blum
On behalf of Dr. Blum, this endowed scholarship will be awarded each year for the lifetime of the OU College of Dentistry.
To learn more about the William J. Blum, DDS, Missions Scholarship, you may contact our office at (405) 360-5566.