Cleft-focused organization Smile Train has launched a new partnership with Dallas-based positive media outlet InspireMore to share stories from their programs in more than 70 countries.
Founded in 1999, Smile Train has reached over 1.5 million children with their unique model of sponsoring cleft surgery and related essential cleft care, while also training and empowering medical professionals on how to adequately treat clefts in their own communities. They also fund community health workers to identify and reach cleft-affected families who need support.
Smile Train was named as InspireMore’s first-ever “Partner Cause of the Year,” an honor which includes a fully integrated and custom year-long partnership focused on aligning the entire InspireMore platform with Smile Train’s work.
“We know that clefts impact millions of lives across the globe, yet many people simply do not know about the condition. Clefts can cause difficulties eating, breathing, hearing, and speaking for the 1 in 700 babies born with one each year. This new partnership with InspireMore will help us educate the public about clefts while helping spread awareness of the free, life-changing cleft surgery we provide in addition to services like speech therapy, emotional and nutritional support, and orthodontic care. We look forward to the positive news stories to come from this partnership.”
— Phil Carroll, Senior Vice President of Communications at Smile Train
“Since March 2014, InspireMore has reached more than 500 million people around the world with positive news and inspirational content, and we are so happy to partner with Smile Train to share their stories from the field. The web is full of negative and divisive media, and we aim to be the antidote to that problem by publishing only positive media that spreads hope and optimism.
“We know that clefts are a life-threatening condition, and the work of Smile Train is a testament to how donor support can improve the lives of children in need of help. After considering a wide range of causes to support with our ‘Partner Cause of the Year’ honor, the work of Smile Train stood out for its simple yet extremely important focus on making the lives of cleft-affected people better.
“The stories we will share as part of this partnership will show the public how a basic surgery can create the most impactful ‘before and after’ cases you have ever seen, while showcasing the ongoing services needed to support patients. These articles will also highlight how the public can help people with clefts, and we know our readers will be as passionate as we are about Smile Train’s work.”
— Hunter Stensrud, Co-Founder of InspireMore
[Source(s): Smile Train, PR Newswire]
