After two weeks of fundraising and with the blogsite live for just over a week, we are making great progress! So far, we have 14 donors from 6 different countries who have given amounts ranging from $15 to $800 ($400 with a company match).

Many thanks to those who have given! Your donations allow the Smile Train to help kids like Shivarudrayya, or Shiva, who is pictured below. Just have a look at what kind of impact your money has.

Shiva was born with a severe cleft and lip palate in a poor, rural part of Northern India. His parents were devastated and blamed themselves for his birth defect, believing local folklore which says that clefts occur when a pregnant woman uses a knife during an eclipse. The illiterate couple had no idea that Shiva’s birth defect was correctable. Even if they had known, Shiva’s parents would not been able to afford the $250 procedure with their family income totaling only $8 per month.

Luckily, a neighbor read the young couple an advertisement from the local newspaper that described a nearby Smile Train clinic. Within days, an all-Indian medical team had corrected Shiva’s cleft. Because he received care at such a young age, Shiva will avoid the many physical and social effects that his massive cleft palate would have forced him and his family to endure.

I try to imagine the guilt Shiva’s parents must have felt when they saw his cleft. The fact that they did not know that his condition was correctable saved Shiva’s parents from unspeakable desperation. I can only imagine seeing my new baby with a correctable ailment that cost over two and a half years of my wages and knowing that I have neither the cash nor the ability to finance these costs. Such a scenario must be devastating.

The Smile Train’s mission is to eliminate such scenarios, one child, one family at a time. Your gift makes a tangible and direct impact on the lives of these families. In fact, 100% of your donation makes such an impact – no waste, no fees, just you helping kids. What a deal!

And remember, if you are an ADC employee, then the ADC Foundation will match up to $1,000 of your contribution and it doesn’t count against your individual annual matching-gift program limits. No paperwork to fill out, just donate and email me (seth.cochran@gmail.com) and we will take care of the rest!

Yesterday, Colin Hanna of Edinburgh Scotland gave $400 to The Smile Train on behalf of Summit for Smiles. With his company match, his gift has double impact making his total contribution $800!

Did you know that every baby born with a cleft palate in Uganda is given the name Ajok which literally means, “cursed by God.” Colin gave three kids, like Funmi (pictured to the right), chances to be called by their given names and to live normal lives – his generous $400 gift will last three lifetimes!

Big gifts are great, but every contribution really counts. Even if you can only afford to give $5 or $10, then please do. These kids need all the help they can get. If your company has a matching program, every gift can have a big impact. Think of it like this: a $62.50 gift with a company match totals $125, which is half the cost of a surgery. So if two people with company matching give $62.50 each, then one kid’s life will totally change. Wow, what an impact!!!

And remember, if you are an ADC employee, then the ADC Foundation will match up to $1,000 of your contribution and it doesn’t count against your individual annual matching-gift program limits. No paperwork to fill out, just donate and email me (seth.cochran@gmail.com) and we will take care of the rest!

I have been delaying the official roll out of my blogsite until we are “finished,” but I actually realized that the nature of this site is dynamic and finished may never actually happen.

But, the good news here is that we have had our first contribution and it was no small sum. Steven Taylor of Dunfermline, Scotland gave £200 (or $392) to The Smile Train on behalf of Summit for Smiles. With his company’s match, that brings the first contribution to $784, which will fund corrective surgery for 3 kids in the developing world. Fantastic! Thanks to Steve for kicking this effort off right!