Pedrina Faber's Miles for Smiles

Dear Family and Friends,

Greetings from Nashville, Tennessee! I hope this letter finds you well after an exceptionally long almost two-year post-covid-19 pandemic. As you read this letter, I am sure covid-19 has affected you and your families in many ways. These past two years have been challenging for all of us. As a nurse, I have seen the remarkable courage nurses have had in dealing with this crisis. Seeing the impact this has had on patients and families for whom I cared for. This pandemic has allowed me to appreciate those around me and take chances in my life to better myself and help the lives of others both here in the United States and across the world. 

To celebrate my birthday this August and to support a worthy cause near and dear to my heart, this September, I will join a group of adventurous souls for a Camino de Santiago Portuguese trek. This will be a 75-mile trek that begins at the northern tip of Portugal. Each day our group will walk 15-24 km and (9-15 miles) throughout Spain, which will also benefit a very worthy cause that I hold dear to my heart, the Smile Network International. 

I’ve had the opportunity to work with Smile Network over the past 11 years on five different missions, caring for children, teens, and adults with cleft lip and cleft palates. Studies from the World Health Organization state that “Cleft conditions are among the most common birth defects worldwide, affecting roughly 1 in 700 births." Due to these common defects, patients may have speech difficulties, difficulty feeding, abnormal facial appearance, increased ear and respiratory tract infections, and social stigma. While on these missions with Smile, I have worked side by side with other medical professionals who have the same goal, bring a new smile to our patients, and profoundly change the lives of the children and their families.

You should know two things: one, I will be paying all my own expenses on this trip, and two, every penny (2,500.00) I raise will go to a surgical mission, where life-altering surgeries will change the lives of many children. I have already raised 850.00 dollars to those who have donated before, covid-19, and I am ever so grateful for your support. 

About Smile Network International:

It is a non-profit, Minnesota-based humanitarian organization that performs surgeries on children born with the debilitating birth defect of a cleft lip or cleft palate. Most commonly having a combination of both cleft lip/palates. This is one of those rare charities where virtually everyone connected to it is a volunteer. The doctors and nurses volunteer their time to make this happen.

So, for as little as $500, Smile Network is able to repair a child’s birth defect and in as little as 45 minutes. 

For all practical purposes, my journey begins today, asking for your support. Donations of any amount are welcome, and no donation is too small. Some companies provide matching funds, so your contribution could double. And thank you to those have already donated. I greatly appreciate it. 

To donate, please go online to my Mighty Cause page: https://www.givemn.org/story/Pedrinafaber. or call Smile Network at 612-377-1800 to make a donation over the phone. Keep in mind, many companies provide matching funds, doubling your donation., 

It is my personal belief that “You are not defined by who you are as just a person, but it is those you help in this world that truly defines you.” P. Faber

Thank you, 

Pedrina Faber