The six residents who created "The Wolverine Fund" have each pledged $1,000 annually for the next five years so future residents will have the financial resources available for dues and to attend important orthodontic conferences.

One of the members of the Class of 2004, Michael Hess, said, "During conversations with orthodontic residents at other schools, we learned that many of their programs had strong financial support from their alumni that paid their travel expenses, and even dues, that enabled the ortho residents to attend major educational conferences."

Ortho residents who created “The Wolverine Fund”
include (left to right): Christopher Freeman, Nicole Jane,
Michael Hess, Annie Zionic, Toby VanLandschoot, and Courtney Dunn.

Since Michigan did not have a similar program, the ortho residents decided to create one. "Our effort will allow future orthodontic residents to attend those very important educational meetings, such as the annual American Association of Orthodontists conference," Hess said.

The group hopes future orthodontic residents will also pledge $1,000 annually for five years to allow residents to attend the major conferences.

"We're also hoping that other School of Dentistry graduates, especially those who earned their orthodontics degree at U-M, will also be a part of this effort," he said.