Smile Train Celebrates Two Millionth Surgery at 25th Anniversary Gala
PR Newswire
NEW YORK, May 9, 2024
Hosted by Jeannie Mai, the evening also honored Kimora Lee Simmons, Naiomi Glasses, and Shoba Lonappan for their commitment to transforming lives through global cleft care
NEW YORK, May 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Last night, Smile Train, the world's largest cleft-focused organization, hosted their 25th anniversary gala at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City. The gala was a major milestone event, celebrating a quarter century of unwavering commitment to ensuring every person has access to high-quality comprehensive cleft care, as well as the organization's two millionth surgery.
Susannah Schaefer, President and CEO of Smile Train, opened the momentous evening stating "Smile Train's impact has only grown. Through economic crises, wars, and even a global pandemic… I think the results speak for themselves - tens of thousands of surgeons and interdisciplinary medical professionals trained, millions of successful surgeries, tens of billions of dollars in global economic impact, and a galaxy of smiles!"
Jeannie Mai, TV personality and executive producer, hosted the event, which brought together Smile Train's global network to celebrate the charity's impact of lighting up children's lives with smiles. The evening honored Kimora Lee Simmons, Naiomi Glasses, and Shoba Lonappan for their efforts to transform children's lives – and smiles – forever. Multi-platinum recording artist Jordin Sparks joined with a musical performance, and DJ Jazzy Jeff hosted the afterparty.
Smile Train is the only cleft-focused organization with a sustainable and local model of supporting cleft surgeries and other forms of essential care to include oral health, speech services, ENT, and audiology. To date, Smile Train has empowered more than 2,100 medical professionals across 95+ countries to provide more than 2 million free, high-quality, life-changing cleft surgeries to people in need. The organization has also ensured a bright future for cleft treatment and care, hosting 60,000+ training opportunities for medical workers and partnering with more than 1,100 health centers.
Kate Bosworth and Justin Long served as co-chairs of the Honorary Gala Committee alongside Kenyan Drake, Howie Mandel, Chanel Iman, Christie Brinkley, Elizabeth Gillies, and Reba McEntire. Bank of America served as the Platinum Sponsor.
For more information about the event, please visit smiletrain25.com.
ABOUT SMILE TRAIN:
Smile Train empowers local medical professionals with training, funding, and resources to provide free cleft surgery and comprehensive cleft care to children globally. We advance a sustainable solution and scalable global health model for cleft treatment, drastically improving children's lives, including their ability to eat, breathe, speak, and ultimately thrive. To learn more about how Smile Train's sustainable approach means donations have both an immediate and long-term impact, please visit smiletrain.org.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis
smiletrain@ssmandl.com
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SOURCE Smile Train