"They're so good you go dumb for a second" - Manny

Cookies That Make Children Smile

The proceeds from Cookies for Smiles are donated to the charity Smile Train.

Smile Train is a charity that provides surgery to repair cleft lips and palates for children throughout the world, and especially in developing countries. 

Clefting is a congenital deformity caused by abnormal facial development during gestation.

Approximately 1 in 700 children born have a cleft lip and/or a cleft palate, and it is one of the 5 most common birth defects. The causes of cleft lip/palate are often unknown and cannot be prevented. 

The surgery to repair a cleft lip or palate costs $250, it only takes 45 minutes, and it changes the life of a small child forever. Most children who have their clefts repaired early enough are able to have a happy youth and adulthood, and a healthy social life.

When I first learned of this charity some years ago, I supported it through an individual donation.  A couple months after my donation, I received a before-and-after picture of the young girl that I had helped.  I realized the enormous difference my modest donation had made, and I decided to find a way to continue supporting this charity.

For years my passion and creative outlet has been… making cookies. They have been bringing smiles to my family members and friends virtually every weekend. Hence I decided to marry my commitment to this charitable cause to my predilection for baking cookies.  Thus was born “Cookies for Smiles” which supports the “Smile Train” charity.

My goal is to raise money, through the sale of my cookies, € 1000 before the end of 2011, which means surgeries for at least 4 children – children whose lives will be improved by the simple and safe surgical procedure. I hope to raise awareness of this congenital defect among my schoolmates, and offer then an easy (and delicious) way to support this worthy cause. This blog as well as informative pamphlets will raise awareness throughout the school and special order forms will make it easy and convenient to order cookies every week.  

All proceeds from the sale of the cookies will be donated to Smile Train and this blog will post updates about donations collected and the children that have been helped.

Join me by purchasing Cookies that Make Children Smile.

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