Knauss Family

Cindy Knauss-Konija and her brother, Bill Knauss, lead the Dalton and Elaine Knauss Foundation, created by their parents. "Being a conduit for the Lord's work is important to our family," said Cindy. "Through the foundation, we continue our family's legacy through our children and grandchildren, because that's what we are called to do."

Though their foundation donates to many causes, giving to Smile Train has been a particularly important — and personal — family tradition for the past 14 years. “Our cousin was born with a cleft, and we knew we wanted to help others, especially those who could not afford care,” Cindy explained.

In 2017, they found themselves with a unique opportunity to refer Smile Train services to another family halfway around the world. Cindy and Bill’s aunt, Arlene, was in touch with a pastor in Kenya named David. A family in his congregation had a child — Grace — who had been born with a cleft and her parents didn't know that free, high-quality cleft care was available.

So the Knauss family took action, connecting Pastor David and Grace’s family to Smile Train. Through our local partner, Grace’s mother learned how to nurse her daughter so she could reach a healthy enough weight for surgery; months later, Grace was cleared for treatment. Although the Knauss family has never met Grace and her family in person, they were touched to have played a role in helping her. Said Cindy, “We’re just happy we can just make a little bit of difference.”