Smiles are fabulous, aren’t they? To see a big, beautiful smile on the face of our family and friends can turn any day around. As a parent, I know that I will move mountains to make Angeline smile, and I often judge my own success as a parent by the smile I see on my daughter’s face. Smiles mean so much; they convey happiness, they serve as a welcome when we greet people – a simple smile from across the room can act as the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
There is no denying the power of a smile.
Smile Train understands the power of a smile and they are doing amazing things to improve the lives of children in developing countries. Smile Train has provided over 1 million surgeries to children with cleft lips and palates over the past 15 years, and their work is just beginning! There are millions of children worldwide in need of cleft surgery. With more than 2,100 partner surgeons in 85 countries offering 100% free cleft repair surgery, Smile Train is changing lives and improving communities with their sustainable approach to the solvable problem of cleft lips and palates in children.
Children in developing countries with a cleft lips and palates have a difficult time breathing, speaking and eating. They often live in shame and feel different, and they may feel ugly and are often bullied by their peers. As a parent, this breaks my heart. We are currently have orthodontic work done for Angeline to improve her smile purely for cosmetic reasons…to think that there are children who actually have a hard time breathing, let alone be comfortable with their smile? It breaks my heart!
A cleft can be repaired for as little $250, but the reality is that most families simply cannot afford it. Cleft repair surgery is simple and only takes about 45 minutes. The transformation is immediate. Smile Train’s sustainable model provides training and funding to empower local doctors in 85+ developing countries to provide 100%-free cleft repair surgery in their communities. Those doctors go on to train additional doctors, which creates a long-term, sustainable system so that more and more children are helped! Smile Train has helped more then a million children by giving them the power of a smile and you can help to ensure that even more children are helped by Smile Train with a tax-deductible donation.
A smile is powerful, it can be the tool one needs for a second chance at life. A smile can renew hope and it can alter the future.
A smile can change everything.
To learn more about the good work Smile Train is doing, to explore the power of a smile or to make a donation to help make the world a better place, one smile at a time, please visit SmileTrain.org.
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.
