The Roanoke Mission of Mercy clinic will be held March 26-27 at the Roanoke Civic Center.

The announcement comes after organizers had to cancel the 2009 clinic because of scheduling conflicts.

"Although we are disappointed in the delay to bringing much-needed dental services to the underserved in the region, we are happy that we were able to reschedule early in the spring of 2010," the group's project manager, Pat Young, said in an e-mail statement.

The clinic is also facing increased costs and will use the year to raise money and recruit volunteers.

"We hope this extra time will allow us to recruit additional dental and medical professionals and enhance our ability to treat more patients," Young said. For two straight years the clinic served about 1,000 people. This year a spring date was never selected and an October weekend had to be canceled.

Other Mission of Mercy clinics have been scheduled in other parts of the state, including one July 24-26 at the Wise County Fairgrounds.

-- Sarah Bruyn Jones