Since 2008 our mom has had an annual fundraiser in the month of October (the month we were born) and this year we are taking over! This year we got accepted into Smile Train's Student Ambassador Program, and as a part of it we have our own fundraisers! We have decided that we would take over Smiletober as a part of it!
Our mom found Smile Train when she started researching clefts when she found out she was adopting a baby with one. Because we are the same age, our fundraising goal is the sum of our ages. Each surgery is only $250 and this year we are turning 16, so our goal is to raise enough to pay for 32 surgeries ($8,000)!!
Hey y'all! This is Ella and here's my story. I was born in Hanoi, Vietnam with a cleft lip. I was adopted at 8 months and I had my cleft surgically fixed around the age of one. Throughout my life I've had lots of orthodontic treatment (braces, expander, etc) along with a bone graft surgery too. As of now, I no longer have braces or anymore surgeries ahead! I am so excited that we are taking over the annual fundraiser and I hope with y'alls help we reach our goal!
Hi, I'm Violet. I was born in Wuhan, China with a cleft lip and palate. My cleft lip was repaired when I still lived in China but I had surgery on my cleft palate when I was 3, which is right after I was adopted. Since then, I've had around 9 surgeries repairing the problems that come with a cleft lip and palate. I've also gone through 2 rounds of braces many expanders and 1 round of retainers and about 3 years of headgear. I'm so excited to share this journey with you and I can't wait for Smiletober!
https://www.mysmiletrain.org/campaign/Ella-and-Violets-Smiletober