What if you could give the gift of a smile for one child this holiday season? Imagine the impact that would have. When the holidays come around, we always think of what gift we can give to those we love. Sometimes we don’t stop to think about what other families are going through, and how they are struggling or suffering.
Did you know that 1 in 10 children born with a cleft pallet will die before their first birthday? I had no idea being born with a cleft pallet was something so serious. That’s why I love the charity Operation Smile, an International organization that provides free cleft pallet surgeries for children born with the disorder along with other children born with deformities.
Every three minutes a child is born with a cleft. One in 10 of those children will die before their first birthday. The children who survive are often unable to eat, speak, socialize or smile. In some places, they are shunned and rejected. And in too many cases, their parents can’t afford to give them the surgeries they need to live a productive life. Operation smile is one of the largest volunteer-based medical charities to provide free surgeries of these kinds. They have done over 200,000 surgeries for children and young adults born with facial deformities since 1982.
I find this incredible! Almost like that movie Patch Adams where group of doctors get together to help and treat to heal the less fortunate, or doctors without borders sort of program. However despite the fact doctors are aiding and doing surgeries free doesn’t mean the means and what’s necessary to get the job done is.
You can donate to Operation Smile in lieu of buying a present for someone this year, put the donation in their name and let them know you support this worthy cause. Many companies are also donating, such as Campusbookrentals, each text book rented a donation goes to Operation Smile to help improve the lives of kids by giving them a better future for tomorrow.
You can read more about Operation and get facts on Cleft Pallet/Surgeries and everything that goes in to this amazing project on their about page http://www.operationsmile.org/about_us/who-we-are/
2 comments
This is so sad. I had no idea of the high rates. 1 in 10??? What a great idea to gift this donation instead of a present under the tree. Great share Jodi!
Thanks Kelly, and I agree. It's a great idea instead of present. I had no idea children could even die from it, seriously. Shows what I know. So I wanted to make others aware. 🙂