Charitable Gift Giving

One out of every 500-700 babies (about one every three minutes) are born with a cleft lip or cleft palate, an opening in the lip, the roof of the mouth or the soft tissue in the back of the mouth. In a society that stresses physical attractiveness as much as our does, it admittedly takes a lot of getting used to looking at pictures of these children, and it can certainly be traumatic for parents. But these are kids. They laugh, they cry, they play, they learn, they feel joy, and they feel pain. They didn’t ask for their faces to turn out this way, it just happened. And yet left untreated, it can cause problems from ear disease to dental problems to problems eating to problems with speech. And of course, there’s the social awkwardness .

Happily, cleft lips and palates can be repaired. Most surgeons agree that cleft lips should be repaired when an infant is 3 months old, and cleft palates can be repaired between 12 and 18 months. The surgery can take as little as 45 minutes, and can completely eradicate the facial deformity and give the child a smile that will last forever.

Operation Smile operates in over 60 countries, including countries where even basic healthcare itself is hard to come by. They offer free surgeries to those who need it.

This past holiday season, Operation Smile set up a Holiday Catalog where you can “order” various things that are necessary for surgeries, including  things to help prepare kids for surgery, medicine and supplies, operating room supplies, and surgery itself. It’s a great way to solicit donations but also educate the public on what the surgery entails. Oprah even named the catalog one of her “Favorite Things” this year.

The catalog is still up and still accepting donations at http://www.operationsmile.org/gift-catalog/home.html. When your donation totals $50 or $240 respectively, you’ll also receive a tote bag or an authentic silk scarf from Indian artisans.