Sun Life Launches Health Access Hero Awards to Fund Oral Health and Diabetes Programs

Sun Life mobilizes community grants to tackle oral health and diabetes

Health Access Hero Awards open applications to fund community programs

Sun Life U.S., together with DentaQuest as part of its dental business, is opening applications and nominations for the 2026 Health Access Hero Awards, aiming to boost community-level access to care with a particular focus on oral health and diabetes. The program is accepting proposals from hospitals, health clinics and grassroots community groups that deliver education, screening, treatment and support services, and is calling for nominations of individuals such as health providers, nonprofit directors, academic faculty and community organizers.

The awards operate on two tracks: grant funding for innovative health and wellness programs at community organizations, and recognition of individuals who make measurable local impact. Individual awardees receive a $10,000 donation to a charity of their choice, while organizational grants are intended to expand preventive care, outreach and treatment capacity in underserved areas. Sun Life and DentaQuest present the awards as part of a broader effort to link preventive oral health interventions with chronic disease management, notably diabetes, where oral health can be a compounding factor.

Organizers emphasize immediate uptake and rapid deployment of funds to scale proven local solutions, and they set a March 31 deadline for applications and nominations. Interested parties can find full details and apply at www.sunlife.com/healthaccessheroes. The awards continue Sun Life’s strategy of using targeted community investments to address health equity gaps and to support integrated approaches to oral and systemic health.

Program history and scale

Since inception, the Health Access Hero program has awarded more than $3.5 million in grants and recognized over 130 individuals nationwide, a footprint Sun Life cites as evidence of the awards’ reach in community health ecosystems.

Sun Life U.S. role and company context

Sun Life U.S. is one of the largest providers of employee and government benefits, helping approximately 50 million Americans access care, and positions the awards within broader preventive care and health equity initiatives across its global operations. The parent company reports total assets under management of C$1.62 trillion as of Sept. 30, 2025, and emphasizes partnerships and community investment as central to its health solutions strategy.