Karis Community Health receives Health Access Hero Award, including $100,000 grant, from Sun Life and DentaQuest

Rhea-AI Summary

Karis Community Health was named a 2025 Health Access Hero Award recipient by Sun Life U.S. (SLF) and DentaQuest and received a $100,000 grant to expand dental care access within and beyond Bradley County.

The grant will fund expansion into additional underserved areas including Polk County, where 2,300+ residents lacked health insurance in 2024. Karis has delivered more than $13 million in dental services since 2015 and now offers medical care, chronic disease management, and health education.

The Health Access Hero Awards include grants for organizations and $10,000 donations for individual heroes; the program has awarded over $3.5 million and recognized 130+ individuals nationwide.

Key Figures

Health Access Hero grant $100,000 Grant to Karis Community Health to expand dental care access

Dental services provided >$13 million Value of dental services delivered by Karis Community Health since 2015

Uninsured residents >2,300 Polk County residents living without health insurance in 2024

Individual Hero donation $10,000 Donation made to charity of choice for each Individual Hero

Program grants total >$3.5 million Total Health Access Hero Awards grants provided to date

Individuals recognized >130 Individuals honored by Health Access Hero Awards across the country

Share price $61.27 Current SLF price before market reaction to this news

Market capitalization $33,893,367,768 SLF market cap prior to this announcement

Market Reality Check

$62.84 Last Close

Volume Volume 283,028 is below the 20-day average of 481,320 ahead of this CSR announcement. low

Technical Shares at $61.27 are trading above the 200-day MA of $60.08, and 8.29% below the 52-week high of $66.81.

Peers on Argus

SLF gained 0.71% while key diversified insurance peers like AIG (-2.01%) and WTW (-1.27%) declined, indicating stock-specific strength rather than a sector-wide move.

Historical Context

Date	Event	Sentiment	Move	Catalyst
Dec 08	Executive award	Positive	-0.2%	SVP of HR received Icon Award recognizing leadership in Boston business community.
Dec 04	Workplace ranking	Positive	-0.2%	Sun Life U.S. named Top Place to Work by Boston Globe for 8th year.
Dec 04	CSR award	Positive	-0.2%	Health Access Hero award for food insecurity work with $10,000 donation.
Dec 03	Charitable campaign	Positive	+0.4%	Dunk4Diabetes campaign raised $125,000 for YMCA health and nutrition programs.
Nov 25	Investor conference	Positive	+1.2%	CFO participation in Desjardins Toronto Conference fireside chat for investors.

Pattern Detected

Recent CSR and recognition headlines have generally seen muted to slightly negative next-day moves, suggesting limited short-term trading impact from similar news.

Recent Company History

Over the last month, SLF news flow has focused on corporate reputation and community impact: workplace awards, executive recognition, charitable campaigns, and a conference appearance. Items like the Icon Award for HR leadership and repeated “Top Place to Work” recognition accompanied small share moves of between -0.19% and 1.18%. Today’s Health Access Hero grant announcement fits this pattern of CSR-focused news with modest stock reaction against broader sector softness.

Market Pulse Summary

This announcement highlights SLF’s ongoing focus on community health through a $100,000 Health Access Hero grant, supporting expanded dental and medical services in underserved Tennessee counties. It continues a stream of recognition and CSR-oriented news, including prior Health Access Hero awards and charitable campaigns. Investors may track how consistently such initiatives align with SLF’s broader strategy, while also watching future filings and financial updates to gauge any linkage between brand investments and long-term business performance.

Key Terms

chronic disease management medical

"resource that also provides medical care, chronic disease management and health education."

Ongoing coordinated care and support that helps people with long-term health conditions control symptoms, follow treatments, adopt healthy habits, and avoid complications — like a maintenance plan for a car applied to a person’s health. Investors care because chronic disease management creates steady demand for medicines, devices, monitoring tools and services, affects healthcare costs and reimbursement decisions, and can produce predictable, recurring revenue streams or cost savings for payers and providers.

oral health medical

"From diabetes to oral health, the Health Access Hero Awards raise awareness..."

Oral health is the state of your mouth, teeth, gums and related tissues — whether they are free from disease, pain or functional problems — and how well they allow eating, speaking and smiling. For investors, it signals demand and risk in markets for dental products, services and treatments; like maintaining a car to avoid breakdowns, good oral health reduces long-term costs, affects healthcare spending, regulatory scrutiny, and company reputation.

AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.

CLEVELAND, Tenn., Dec. 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Karis Community Health has been selected as a 2025 Health Access Hero Award and grant recipient by Sun Life U.S. and DentaQuest. The $100,000 grant will help expand access to dental care within and beyond Bradley County. The annual Health Access Hero Awards recognize nonprofits and individual change-makers working to broaden access to health services for communities in need.

Karis Community Health has been serving Bradley County since 2015, providing more than $13 million in dental services. Originally Karis Dental, the organization changed its name after recognizing other underlying health conditions among many patients. What started as a faith-based clinic aimed at closing adult dental care gaps has become an essential community resource that also provides medical care, chronic disease management and health education. The grant will help expand its reach to additional underserved communities including Polk County, where more than 2,300 residents lived without health insurance in 2024.

"This grant is helping close a huge gap we've been trying to fill for a long time," said Karis Community Health Executive Director Kelly Ohlsson. "Our services are needed in Polk County and beyond, but we've had to say no these requests because our capacity was at max. Bradley County itself is too much as it is. For us to be able to expand with this grant is just an answer to a prayer and a dream come true for the community, and for me personally as a cofounder."

Healthcare access is an ongoing issue across America, and grassroots efforts can drive meaningful results within communities. From diabetes to oral health, the Health Access Hero Awards raise awareness about the work of people and programs around the country that are charting new ways to overcome longstanding healthcare challenges.

"Sun Life and DentaQuest are committed to broadening access to care through philanthropic initiatives that can have large-scale impact at local levels. Karis Community Health is doing the hard work to bring what can be life-changing dentistry to areas in need," said Dr. Todd Gray, chief dental officer for Sun Life U.S. "Over the years, we have had the privilege of supporting many incredible programs and witnessing the meaningful results achieved in their communities. To Karis Community Health, thank you for the opportunity to help make your impact even stronger and move the needle toward increased access to oral healthcare for all."

There are two tracks to the Health Access Hero Awards: grants to fund health and wellness programs in community organizations, and recognition of individuals who have made a significant impact on health access in their communities. Individual Heroes also receive a $10,000 donation to the charity of their choice. The Health Access Hero Awards have provided more than $3.5 million in grants and recognized more than 130 individuals across the country.

Read more about the Health Wagon and the 2025 Health Access Hero awards, including all the recipients, at https://www.dentaquest.com/en/about-us/health-access-heroes.

About DentaQuest
Sun Life U.S. Dental, which includes DentaQuest, is dedicated to improving the oral health of all through purpose-driven, outcomes-based solutions. We make dental benefits better for everyone through Preventistry^® – an inclusive approach centered on preventive, quality care, expanded access and solutions built on valued relationships across the health care ecosystem. We manage dental and vision benefits for approximately 35 million Americans. For 30 years, we have delivered cost-effective benefit plans and services for employer groups, individuals, health plans, and government-sponsored dental programs. We are the largest Medicaid and CHIP dental benefits administrator in the U.S., by membership. We also support direct patient care through an expanding network of approximately 75 dental practices in underserved communities across the United States. Learn more about Sun Life U.S. Dental at sunlife.com/dental and dentaquest.com.

About Sun Life
Sun Life is a leading international financial services organization providing asset management, wealth, insurance and health solutions to individual and institutional Clients. Sun Life has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the U.S., the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of September 30, 2025, Sun Life had total assets under management of C$1.62 trillion. For more information, please visit www.sunlife.com.

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.

Sun Life U.S. is one of the largest providers of employee and government benefits, helping approximately 50 million Americans access the care and coverage they need. Through employers, industry partners and government programs, Sun Life U.S. offers a portfolio of benefits and services, including dental, vision, disability, absence management, life, supplemental health, medical stop-loss insurance, and healthcare navigation. Sun Life employs more than 8,500 people in the U.S., including associates in our partner dental practices and affiliated companies in asset management. Group insurance policies are issued by Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (Wellesley Hills, Mass.), except in New York, where policies are issued by Sun Life and Health Insurance Company (U.S.) (Lansing, Mich.). For more information visit our website and newsroom.

Media contacts

Maya Linson
Sun Life U.S.
maya.linson@improvingoralhealth.com
202-794-3738

Bethany Almendarez
Karis Community Health
balmendarez@karishealth.org
(423) 244-3740

Connect with Sun Life U.S.

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SOURCE Sun Life U.S.

FAQ

What did Sun Life (SLF) and DentaQuest award Karis Community Health on December 17, 2025?

Karis received a 2025 Health Access Hero Award and a $100,000 grant to expand dental care access.

How will the $100,000 grant from Sun Life (SLF) and DentaQuest be used by Karis Community Health?

The grant will help expand dental services into additional underserved communities, including Polk County.

How much dental care has Karis Community Health provided since 2015?

Karis has provided more than $13 million in dental services since 2015.

What part of the Health Access Hero Awards program benefits individual change-makers?

Individual heroes receive recognition and a $10,000 donation to the charity of their choice.

How many grants and individuals have the Health Access Hero Awards supported to date?

The program has provided over $3.5 million in grants and recognized more than 130 individuals nationwide.

Where can I find the full list of 2025 Health Access Hero Award recipients?

The full list of recipients and program details is available on the DentaQuest Health Access Heroes webpage.