![Cleft Awareness Month 2021 #cleftproud](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-07/cleft-awareness-month-cleft-proud-2021.jpg?itok=buw1bbZh)
What My Cleft Taught Me
In honor of Cleft Awareness Month 2021, Smile Train's Cleft Community Advisory Council presents real-life stories of growing up with a cleft or being the mom to a child with a cleft from people who have been there.
![Smile Train supporter Randall Bolling](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-05/randall-bolling-st.jpg?itok=gKy4BA6h)
![St. Joseph College students](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-06/st-joe-smile-impact-society-on-stoop.jpg?itok=SQ1LGFNK)
St. Joseph’s College Students Go the Extra Mile for Smiles
One more way Smile Impact Society students turn their passions into smiles.
![Students for Smiles logo](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-05/cla-state-fullerton-students-for-smiles-logo.jpg?itok=YQZTZDYl)
California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) Students Turn Crisis into Smiles
How one chapter of Smile Train’s Smile Impact Society made 2020 its most lucrative year yet.
![Iva as a girl before cleft surgery and now.](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-05/iva-ballou-og.jpg?itok=Qc0JOgaA)
How Iva Found Joy in Her Cleft
![Daniel in first grade, after receiving cleft surgery in America.](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-04/jasmine-c-50-50.jpg?itok=8zvVnM9Z)
Why My Son Says He Always Wanted a Cleft
How Jasmine went from fear and self-doubt upon receiving the news that her baby would have a cleft to raising a six-year-old who is #CleftProud.
![Hema on red carpet with Smile Train YLC backdrop](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-02/hema-with-ylc-red-carpet.jpg?itok=Bw7jYDrP)
Why Hema Smiles No Matter What
When Hema was 12 years old, she learned that not everyone born with a cleft received the care she did. She decided right then to change that.
![Ride for Smile Train logo](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-03/ride-for-smile-train-home-edition.jpg?itok=T2MvUtlc)
Ride for Smile Train: Home Edition Passes Every Marker for Success
410 riders in 19 countries raise $66,000+ for life-changing cleft treatment.
![William David Boling with his wife](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-02/william-david-boling.jpg?itok=hhtDV7uv)
Three Generations of Clefts, One Lifelong Commitment to Smiles
Why Dave is a proud monthly donor to Smile Train.
![Jessi holds her daughter Brennan](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-02/jessi-holds-daughter.jpg?itok=xRNo7bbM)
“It is a Journey”: In Conversation with the Mom of a Child With a Cleft
Clefts are not just "fixable."
![Tom Ragland Smile Train supporter](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-02/tom-ragland-smile-train.jpg?itok=7RRcdMMM)
Tom Ragland: “Every Child Deserves the Right to Smile.”
"Be strong. Work hard. Love one another."