There is nothing more powerful than a smile, except maybe a smile from a child. A sweet toothy grin can lift spirits and spread through a crowd in moments. It is the most simple and basic human reaction, and yet not everyone is born with the ability to smile.
I am blessed to have two bright and smiling faces greet me each day, but not all parents are so lucky. Some children are born without the ability to smile or least the ability to smile the way the rest of us do.
I was asked to help spread the word about Smile Train the day after my childhood friend adopted a baby girl in China. A beautiful baby girl who brings so much light and joy to her new family. A beautiful baby girl with a cleft palate. Tears ran down my face as I thought about all of the other children around the world who don’t have access to a simple surgery to correct the cleft palate and give them back their smile.
While cleft repair can cost as little as $250, many families simply can’t afford it. Millions of those children often hide their smile from the rest of the world in shame. Even more heartbreaking, many children with clefts have difficulty eating, breathing and speaking.
Over the last 15 years more than 1 million children in 85+ developing nations have had their smiles given back to them with a free surgery provided by Smile Train. A free surgery that has transformed the lives of these children giving them access to opportunities that might otherwise have been denied to them because of their outward appearance. An amazing gift.
How you can help:
Smile Train accepts donations directly through its website. And if a monetary donation is not within your budget, Smile Train offers several creative ways to help including volunteer ideas to raise money and utilizing online shopping tools so that Smile Train gets a percentage of your purchase.
The Gift of a Smile
The story of my friend’s baby girl has a happy ending. This morning as I sat down to write this post, my friend posted pictures of her sweet baby girl who smiled her first smile after having her stitches removed yesterday. Her smile has been restored, and her light shines even brighter than before.
Together we can support Smile Train and help other babies have a happy ending too.
Smile Train has a sustainable approach to a single, solvable problem: cleft lip and palate. Smile Train’s model provides training and funding to empower local doctors in developing countries provide 100%- free cleft repair surgery in their communities. Join us and change the world with the power of a smile.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Smile Train. The opinions and text are all mine.