Courageous parents, like this mother from Bhutan in Southeast Asia, travel many miles to bring their children to Smile Train clinics.
The Smile Train is a charity that didn’t get much notice locally until a sold-out “thank-you concert” was held at the Riverside Theatre in March 2008. Which is kind of surprising, when you consider that there are 13,000 donors in the Vero Beach area and together they have donated more than $1 million to the organization, according to Smile Train co-founder and president Brian Mullaney.
No doubt Mullaney’s father Joe – Orchid Island resident and retired vice chairman of Gillette – has had a lot to do with the number of supporters and the money raised through quiet solicitation. It is a cause that makes a real difference in the lives of poor children and can assure donors that none of their contribution goes into overhead expenses, a fact that‘s bound to appeal to any thoughtful philanthropist.
The Smile Train tackles one problem and one problem only – the repair of cleft lips and palates, a major problem in developing countries. Currently, it does this in 76 nations by providing free cleft surgery to children and free training to local doctors and medical professionals. Because of its business model of empowering “in-country” surgeons and hospitals, the Smile Train’s success has been dramatic. In its nine-year history, it has helped almost 300,000 children in the world’s poorest countries.
Read the entire article in the November 2008 issue
True Tails is a series written by Amy Robinson for Vero Beach’s dog lovers. Ask Amy about your dog’s behavior by clicking below.
Facebook Comments