I was informed about our newest featured charity, Smile Train, by a young friend named Clay Keniston. Clay is 10 years
old and has taken up the cause of raising $5,000 for Smile Train. Nobody suggested this to him, it was all his own idea after reading about it in a magazine.
The mission of Smile Train is to provide free cleft lip and palate surgery for millions of poor children in developing countries and to provide free cleft-related training for doctors and medical professionals.
Clefts are a major problem in developing countries where there are millions of children who are suffering with unrepaired clefts. Most cannot eat or speak properly, aren't allowed to attend school or hold a job, and face very difficult lives filled with shame and isolation, pain and heartache. For as little as $250 and a 45 minute surgery, every child with a cleft can be helped
Clay learned about Smile Train last fall and knew that Jessicurl welcomes suggestions about what charities to support. He brought it to our attention over Thanksgiving, which seemed especially fitting. Clay's goal is to raise a total of $5,000. He has already raised $1350, including $200 from setting up a table at his school. Two other donors gave him $125 each. The rest has come from doing chores for his parents, all of which he puts in a jar to be given to Smile Train.
I am SO impressed and inspired by Clay's philanthropy. It's not often you meet a kid who so badly wants to help other kids. As someone also dedicated to helping others, I really want to encourage Clay in his endeavors.
In that vein, I'm REALLY excited to feature Smile Train as the current featured charity at Jessicurl.com. Usually, once we are done raising money for a given charity, we send a check directly to the charity from the Jessicurl Public Service bank account where we keep donated money separate from Jessicurl operating funds. This time, however, we will be making the donation to Clay, who will then in turn send all the funds to Smile Train. This way he can reach his $5,000 goal that much faster, and hopefully continue raising even more money on his own.
As with all our featured charities, when you use the Jessicurl.com shopping cart to make a donation we will thank you with a discount on a future Jessicurl.com purchase. Thank you in advance, not only for helping the children of Smile Train, but also for fostering the philanthropic spirit of our next generation.
