ClearCorrect has launched Phase Out, a new fundraising initiative designed to address issues that negatively impact the lives of people in need.
For its first Phase Out project, the company is partnering with charity: water, a nonprofit organization focused on bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations.
Phase Out is a fundraising initiative designed to address issues that negatively impact the lives of people in need. Image courtesy of ClearCorrect.ClearCorrect, which was founded five years ago, is passionate about helping people, according to CEO Jarrett Pumphrey.
"We realized we could actually use the company we've built as a vehicle to help even more people in more ways than just clear aligners," he said. "We created Phase Out as our way of doing that."
The project is driven primarily by the company's phase-based approach to aligners. Unlike systems that send all the aligners for a case upfront, ClearCorrect ships aligners in batches -- what they call "phases" -- of four sets at a time.
This is done so dentists have the flexibility to make changes in the middle of treatment if needed without any added cost to refabricate aligners that have already been made.
— Jarrett Pumphrey, CEO, ClearCorrect
Dentists start by choosing one of two products: a full, which includes up to eight phases, or a limited, which includes up to three phases. Usually, they won't need to use all the phases included with their chosen product to achieve the results they want and may end up with a phase or two left over, according to the company.
Previously those leftover phases used to mean nothing, according to Pumphrey. But now, through the Phase Out program, for every phase left over at the end of treatment, ClearCorrect will donate $20 toward phasing out life-impacting issues for people in need.
"The best part is our doctors and their patients are a part of the process," he said. "Our doctors can use the features we've included in our products to make the most of the phases they get, and patients can simply wear their aligners as instructed by their doctors. Both make leftover phases more likely."
Eliminating unsafe water
The company chose unsafe drinking water because it impacts nearly a billion people around the world, Pumphrey noted.
"More people die every year from unsafe water and a lack of basic sanitation than all forms of violence, including war," he said. "What's worse is that 90% of those deaths are children under 5 years old. charity: water is an incredible organization working to change that. They have a big job to do, and we want to help them."
Through Phase Out, every time a phase is left over at the end of ClearCorrect treatment, $20 will go toward building wells and other water projects in developing nations. The company hopes to fund at least one water project a week on average this year, which will require about $260,000, according to Pumphrey. If they can make that happen, they would help about 13,000 people gain access to clean, safe drinking water.
Another issue ClearCorrect is interested in helping with is illiteracy, Pumphrey noted.
And how long do they intend to run the Phase Out program?
"For as long as we can make a difference," Pumphrey said.
