Thursday, February 28, 2008

The Smile Train

The Smile Train

http://www.smiletrain.org

It just might be the most effective, impactful donation to a charity
you ever make.

100% of your donation will go towards programs that help children, 0% will go to overhead.

The free cleft surgery your donation will help provide, is a true, modern-day medical miracle: it costs as little as $250 and takes as little as 45 minutes.

That’s all it takes to give a desperate child not just a new smile, but a new life.

When you see the impact your donation has, you’ll end up smiling too.

100% of your donation goes toward programs.

We’re the world’s largest and most cost-effective cleft charity.

Meets extensive standards of America's most experienced charity evaluator.

http://www.smiletrain.org/site/PageServer?pagename=mission

One Charity. One Problem. One Goal.

Unlike many charities that do many different things, The Smile Train is focused on solving a single problem: cleft lip and palate.

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.

The good news is every single child with a cleft can be helped with surgery that costs as little as $250 and takes as little as 45 minutes.

This is our mission:

-To provide free cleft surgery for millions of poor children in developing countries.

-To provide free cleft-related training for doctors and medical professionals.

Until there are no more children who need help and we have completely eradicated the problem of clefts.

What Makes The Smile Train Different:

Focused on a single problem: cleft lip and palate.

Teach a man to fish: we empower local doctors in developing countries.

100% of your donations used for programs.

The lowest cost per surgery of any cleft charity.

Best safety and quality record amongst cleft charities.

We bring your donations to the poorest countries on earth which magnifies the impact.

We help children in 71 of the world's poorest countries.

http://www.smiletrain.org/site/PageServer?pagename=smiles

Over the past eight years, we have provided free cleft surgery for over 200,000 children.

These children were suffering not because they were born with a cleft, but because they were born too poor to ever afford surgery.

Being born with a cleft in a developing country is truly a curse. In fact, every baby born in Uganda with a cleft is given the name Ajok which means literally, “cursed by God.” And no one knows how many newborns with clefts are killed or abandoned right after birth.

And the ones who are lucky enough to find a Smile Train free cleft surgery program, not only survive, they thrive. After a 45 minute surgery hands them back their future, and a second chance at life that they never thought they'd get.

http://www.smiletrain.org/site/PageServer?pagename=financials

100% Of Your Donation Will Go Towards Programs,
0% Goes To Overhead.

Tired of charities spending too much on overhead?

We were too. So when we started The Smile Train, we decided ALL donations from the public would go towards programs: all non-program expenses are paid for by members of our Board.

Eight years later, The Smile Train is one of the best-managed, cost-effective charities in America. We’re a new breed of non-profit that is run like a for-profit. We manage and leverage every dollar we raise to help the absolute maximum number
of children possible.

We save millions of dollars a year by using innovative technology such as digital patient charts, virtual surgery software to train and the world’s first and largest digital cleft library.

And with a tiny staff of just 30 people, we manage thousands of partners and programs in 71 of the world’s poorest countries.

When you make a donation to The Smile Train, you will get not just a good feeling, but you will also get an amazing return on your investment.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Your name is hereby transformed from "Fatty" to "Trans Fatty."

- Uncle Fats