Joshua Williams receives Health Access Hero Award from Sun Life and DentaQuest for addressing food insecurity across South Florida
MIAMI, Dec. 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Joshua Williams has been recognized as a 2025 Health Access Hero Awards recipient by Sun Life U.S. and DentaQuest. Individuals are nominated by friends and colleagues to shine a light on their work and receive a $10,000 donation to a charity of choice. Williams was nominated for his work addressing food insecurity in underserved communities across South Florida for nearly two decades. More than 3.2 million people in Florida don't always have enough food to eat, and 25% of them are children. The annual Health Access Hero Awards recognize individual change-makers and nonprofits working to broaden access to health services for communities in need.
Williams has been compelled to help the hungry and the poor since he was just 4 years old, when he founded Joshua's Heart Foundation (JHF). Twenty years later, he has led and inspired over 60,000 youth volunteers in the fight against hunger and poverty, empowering them to address social change. JHF has reached more than 800,000 individuals and distributed more than 8 million pounds of nutritious food and essential hygiene items to families in need. More than 40,000 individuals have been served in the past year alone.
As the leader of the youth-based organization, William's isn't just mobilizing large teams to deliver direct aid, he is empowering young people through leadership training and community engagement. Joshua's model focuses on dignity-driven care, mobile outreach, and overcoming barriers to health access for low-income, minority and immigrant families.
"At JHF, we're really concerned about solving anything that you're hungry for, whether it's skills, community, food or something else. Health in general spans not just the physical body, but also friendships, how we take care of each other and how we take care of our community and environment," said Williams. "We are so appreciative of this support, helping us be a conduit for good. For me, health access is very much a lifestyle and being conscious of the decisions you're making for yourself and your community. Health access sounds like a simple phrase, but there is a lot that goes into it, and it definitely touches all points of our life."
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. By tackling such a critical social determinant of health, Joshua is working to reduce risk factors for chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease while fostering a new generation of community health advocates," said David Healy, president of Sun Life U.S. "Every year, we receive dozens of nominations, and we want to thank all the unsung Heroes doing the hard work, day in and day out. And to Joshua, thank you for the opportunity to help make your impact even stronger and move the needle toward ensuring oral healthcare access for all."
There are two tracks to the Health Access Hero Awards: various grants to fund innovative health and wellness programs at community organizations, and recognition of individuals who have made a significant impact 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 Joshua 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 8,300 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 contact
Maya Linson
Sun Life U.S./DentaQuest
maya.linson@improvingoralhealth.com
202.794.3738
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SOURCE DentaQuest, part of Sun Life U.S.
