FOSTERING HOPE
‘TikTok dentist’ helps spread word on foster care
ROYERSFORD » His dance moves have made Dr. Peter Lim “the TikTok dentist” to social media fans, and his chair-side singing has calmed more than one nervous patient.
Less visible are Lim’s efforts on behalf of Fostering Hope PA, a non-profit agency that serves families and children in the foster care system from offices in Montgomery, Bucks and Delaware counties.
Lim and his wife Rose opened Embrey Dental at 330 Main St. in December 2020. They began their partnership with Fostering Hope soon after and are now regular contributors to the group’s Dignity Duffles, Bags of Hope and Foster-Share Closet initiatives. That support increases with each new patient.
The Lims, parents of Emeline, 7, Aubrey, 4, and Bennett,
9 months, see Fostering Hope’s mission as “one tangible way we can help maintain a child’s dignity and strengthen their home during the (fostering) process.”
“There’ve been one too many stories we’ve heard where a child
uses a plastic bag or trash bag to carry their belongings,” Rose continues. “The Foster-Share Closet initiative includes everything from diapers and wipes to clothes, cribs and car seats. It’s a great resource for foster homes to pick up last-minute supplies they need at no cost so they can focus on the child.”
The Plymouth Meeting native and her husband met at Rutgers University.
“He was a chemistry major, and I was majoring in exercise science, but we were both in a leadership role with a community service group at the school,” Rose says. “We got involved with the group because we both have a love for people … helping people. Fast-forward and that evolved into actively looking for a way to help children.”
Along the way, she discovered that Fostering Hope co-founder Adrienne Cavanaugh had been an elementary school classmate at Penn Christian Academy in East Norriton. Rose attended PCA before graduating from Plymouth Whitemarsh High School in 2001, attending Rutgers and earning a nursing degree at Eastern University.
“I messaged her and told her we were looking for a sponsorship … and that Fostering Hope sounded like just the sort of organization we were hoping to find,”
she explains. “Things just kind of went from there.”
Following Pete’s graduation from New York University College of Dentistry, the Lims settled in North Jersey but relocated to this area to be closer to their families in Plymouth Meeting and South Jersey.
“Pete was working as director of a corporate dental office, but we realized that working in the corporate world you kind of lose sight of why you went into medicine,” Rose says. “It might sound childish or naïve, but we wanted to do something that gives back to the world. We’d been dreaming about starting our own office for a couple of years, so we resigned from our jobs in New Jersey, sold our home, packed up our truck and moved to Pennsylvania. We decided to open in Royersford because we really liked the area’s feeling of community.”
Admittedly, their timing could have been better.
“It was probably the worst possible time to open…at the height of a pandemic, but we had nothing to compare it to,” Rose laughs. “Looking back, well, you make lemonade out of lemons, right? So, we just did the best that we could. We hustled and hustled and tried to connect with other local businesses.
“The pandemic made that challenging, but we found that utilizing social media helped because it lets people see what Pete is truly like. He’s a really laid-back, gentle guy, and
that’s brought in a lot of patients who have dental anxiety … people who say, I decided to come in after I saw you on TikTok.”
Among the latter is a Royersford-based artist whose dental appointment might well shape their next community collaboration.
“(She) found us through TikTok, but after we got talking, she told us she’d love to get local businesses involved in an art walk, which is something we’d definitely be interested in supporting,” Rose says. “Basically, we’re interested in anything that helps support
local business.”
In the meantime, the Lims are committed to “spreading the word” about Fostering Hope.
“It’s a wonderful group,” Rose says. “What they’ve managed to do in the short time they’ve been together…really amazing, but they can use all the support they can get.”
Additional information about Fostering Hope is available via www.fosteringhopepa. com, info@fosteringhopepa.com and social media.