All Aboard the Smile Train!!!!

This email came to me a couple days ago and I HAD to post it. So many of you have donated to Smile Train in honor of Jordan (no money goes to us - it all goes to Smile Train for children in developing countries to receive surgery) so I had to let you in on this exciting thing. For Jordan's first birthday we wanted to raise money for an organization that would repair clefts for kids who can't afford it. We discovered Smile Train and chose them over all the other organizations because 100% of the money raised goes to children who need it. No overhead, no organizational or corporate fees. 100% goes toward the surgeries. I totally fell in love with Smile Train and their staff as I dealt with them setting up the fundraiser and even afterwards. I've lost track exactly now but in lieu of gifts we (our wonderful friends and family) raised more than $2,500 for Smile Train in "honor" of Jordan. That means that in Jordan's name there have been 10 children whose lives are changed forever! I can hardly write about it I get so excited.

I recently got an email from one of the staff members who went on a missions trip to help with surgeries and I got chills - I want to go so badly and I want to take Jordan with me to talk to the families and to relieve their fears and allow them to meet Jordan and to see photos of her experiences, recognizing that it's not a curse or a cause to be ashamed or to hide your child away. Someday I'm hoping that would work out but for now I'll keep reminding all of you readers that there is a great need here and you can always donate. We have two friends from church, Alison and Cheyenne, who still regularly donate in Jordan's name. I'm so touched every time I get a notice that they donated again.

Please check out the link to this documentary that's up for an Oscar and let's pray together that it wins in order to get more awareness out.

Here's the recent email about the documentary:

Believe it or not, this Sunday night, an 8-year-old girl from a tiny village in India may win an Oscar for The Smile Train.
Smile Pinki, a film about The Smile Train, may just win in the documentary short category.

Little Pinki, the star of the film, has flown all the way from India to the U.S. so that if we win, she can go up on stage and show the world her new smile as she holds the Oscar high! She would not only be the youngest person to ever win an Oscar, but also be a shining symbol of hope and inspiration for millions of children who are suffering with clefts. Desperately poor children who have been crying themselves to sleep at night for years, as they wait and wonder if anyone is ever going to come along and help them.
If you get the chance, please try and watch what may be the most important moment in Smile Train history: Sunday night on ABC, at 8:00pm EST. They tell us this category is shown on TV early in the broadcast which is good because Pinki has to be in bed by 9!

Watch out Angelina and Kate Winslet - Pinki and her new smile may very well steal the show Sunday night. She was in our office yesterday in New York and everybody on our staff fell in love with her. We are so proud that she will be out in Hollywood representing The Smile Train and helping raise awareness for all the children who need the surgery she waited six long years for. Doctors and nurses from more than 1,000 Smile Train partner hospitals in 75 of the world’s poorest countries will also be watching and rooting for Pinki.
You can watch a 3 minute trailer of Smile Pinki right now at our web site www.smiletrain.org and you can also register to find out where you can view the movie or get a copy of it.
If you want to help us, please forward this email to all of your friends and colleagues and ask them to watch the trailer and watch the broadcast too. The more people that watch the better! And what a great way to introduce folks to the work we do.
For years we have been telling donors like you how miraculous this cleft surgery is and how it totally transforms the lives of the children who receive it.
But that being said, the story of Pinki just takes my breath away.
Question: How does a little girl living in desperate poverty in rural India, who didn’t own a pair of shoes when we met her, end up in Hollywood walking the red carpet and getting on stage in front of hundreds of millions of people?

Answer: She takes a train.

Thank you for helping us help Pinki and the hundreds of thousands of other children whose lives have been changed thanks to The Smile Train.
None of this would be happening without your support.
All the best,

Brian Co-Founder/President

http://www.smiletrain.org/video_smile_pinki