About – Samana Smiles

About Us

Every story has a beginning. This is ours…

Our Founding

Samana Smiles Foundation (SSF) was founded in 2014. We are a young organization but have a great deal of energy and a desire to help the lives of many young people around the greater Samana peninsula that have urgent and even life-threatening medical conditions.

The good news is there is already a network of amazing individuals who answer the call when urgent needs arise. Samana Smiles is tapping into this great pool of talent and providing much needed organization, structure and fundraising support to empower and grow this network to better address these ever-present needs.

Charitable Designations

Samana Smiles Foundation, Inc. is an Accredited Non-Profit Organization recongized in both the Dominican Republic and the United States.

DR: RNC#: 4-30-18087-4
USA: 501c(3) Tax ID#: 47-1608657

Board of Directors

Lidia Dickinson

Charlene Codio

Cesar Calderon

Alma Amarello

Salvatore Rizzo

Jesus Iturralde

Michael Bidwell

Co-Founder and US Director

My wife Theresa and I have a deep appreciation and admiration of the Dominican culture. We were eager to find ways to support the local Las Terrenas community. We met Lidia Dickinson in 2013. Immediately, we knew our calling . . . To help address the very real and unmet medical and wellness needs of area children.
We feel blessed to have met many like-minded Samana Smiles selfless volunteers along the way. Collectively, we are all driven to help support these families in need. We are very grateful for the tremendous outcomes Samana Smiles has achieved thus far!