Legendary Smiles

05/28/2026

Y’all know how much I value cleft education and awareness 🧡 This morning Henry joined me in one of the 2nd grade classrooms at North Miami Elementary School.

One of the students was born with a cleft lip and palate and her teacher knew who to reach out to. Henry was a little apprehensive about talking, but I knew seeing another cleft affected kiddo would have a lasting impact.

I’m really proud of Henry for the amazing job he did and how interactive he was! He helped me with visual aids and even brought up topics to discuss. We also donated cleft related books to their school library.

05/10/2026

05/06/2026

Want to see the cleft community on a much larger scale and hear amazing content with people who just get it? Smile Train is hosting CleftCon in ARIZONA this July 💓

It’ll be here before you know it!!! For more information, click on the link below.

Register for Cleft Con Phoenix 2026, July 17-19 at The Wigwam in Litchfield Park, AZ, and connect with cleft experts, families, and peers.

04/21/2026

Here's what having a child with a cleft looks like financially. Could your family afford that? This estimate doesn't include birth costs and typical expenses that come with raising a child or time off work for surgery and recovery and travel expenses.

You can make a difference by ensuring children born with clefts and other facial anomalies have access to the medical care they need. We pay for insurance. We are just asking for coverage of essential care. Insurance companies deny and delay medical care providers deem necessary.

This continued care isn't for cosmetic appeal - it is for quality of life. The Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act would place the determination of medical necessity in the provider's hands rather than insurance companies.

There’s a webinar available tonight to learn how you can be an advocate for ELSA!


https://smiletrain.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_xnsxV4MFTjuLElIQPJsMqQ

03/19/2026

I can’t wait to witness this!!

You may have seen already - but I think this deserves its own space and post!!

The 100 Cleft Portraits US Tour is officially confirmed.🎊

We saw the impact, love and learning and decided to share it ❤️

Presented by the ACPA, our Summer 2026 dates and venues are now finalised.

As an artist, this is a huge milestone.

As a mum raising our daughter it's such a powerful moment. My goodness if I could show my scared pregnant self this!!!

This tour was never just about paintings. If anything could ever be that anyway. What makes art is stories, lived experiences, life, expression, courage, love.

It was always about people.
It was always about faces being seen with dignity and reverence.
It was always about helping families feel less alone.
It was always about creating something I wish more of us had at the beginning of this journey. Beautiful images of beautiful faces.

This tour exists for:
💛 people born with cleft
💛 parents and families raising children with cleft
💛 the wider world, so we can shift how cleft is seen and understood

Why this matters so much to me

✅ Visibility & representation
So many people born with cleft grow up without seeing faces like their own represented in beautiful, respectful ways. These portraits are about wholeness, not “before and after”.

✅ Education & awareness
You cannot know someone’s story by looking at their face. This tour helps open up deeper conversations about identity, humanity and what people carry that others may never see.

✅ Connection & nervous system truth
Cleft and the experiences attached to it can create trauma responses in the body, for individuals and families. Naming that gently and honestly can reduce isolation and help people feel seen, understood, and get the root resolution they deserve.

This summer, we’ll be sharing these portraits and stories across the US ⬇️

📍 Philadelphia, PA — July 28–30
📍 Salt Lake City, UT — August 1–2
📍 Winston-Salem, NC — August 6–7
📍 Atlanta, GA — August 8–9
📍 Orlando, FL — August 12
📍 Grand Rapids, MI — August 13–14
📍 Indianapolis, IN — August 16
📍 Chicago, IL — August 18
📍 Madison, WI — August 20–21
📍 Kansas City, MO — August 23
📍 Houston, TX — August 25-27
📍 San Diego, CA — August 29

If you would like the full US tour schedule, venues, dates, and sponsorship information, comment TOUR below and I’ll send it to you. 💌

Thank you to everyone who has supported this project, shared the work, trusted me with stories and helped carry this vision forward.

This is more than an exhibition to me.
It’s a love letter for Ella and the worlds children born with cleft.
It’s a reclaiming.
It’s a movement of representation, dignity and connection.

Please continue to follow to see how everything unfolds❤️ 🌟

01/26/2026

📣📣Important!! 📣📣📣

2026 CAMP ABOUT FACE DATES AND APPLICATION

We may be wearing winter coats and boots right now, but it’s already time to start thinking about warm, sunny summer camp! Applications are now open for the 2026 session of Camp About Face, scheduled to take place Sunday, May 31 – Friday, June 5, 2026. The Camp About Face Leadership Academy will take place Friday, May 29 – Sunday, May 31. The deadline to apply is March 29, 2026. Click the link on this post to view the application.

Camp About Face is a part of the Camp Riley summer camp sessions held at Bradford Woods in Martinsville, Indiana. CAF offers a week-long, traditional summer camp experience for children ages 8-18 born with cleft lip and/or cleft palate or other craniofacial differences. For more than 35 years, CAF has provided an experience where children with facial differences can shatter perceived limitations, make new friends, and reach higher achievements, returning home with an increased sense of confidence.

Camp About Face also features the Leadership Academy, a program for campers ages 16-18 that focuses on leadership, self-reflection and other skills that will help them transition into adulthood. CAFLA takes place the weekend before the general CAF session. Adult mentors who were also born with facial differences join CAFLA for the weekend, providing our campers with unique perspectives and encouragement.

Campers are NOT required to be a patient of Riley Hospital’s Cleft & Craniofacial Program. Financial assistance is available; please see the application for details. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Bradford Woods by email at [email protected] or by calling 765-342-2915.

We look forward to seeing your child at Camp About Face this summer!

Camp Riley has been offering camps for children with physical and cognitive diagnoses since 1955. Funded by Riley Children's Foundation and supported by Riley Hospital for Children, Camp Riley provides a barrier-free environment that empowers each of our campers.

12/18/2025

If you're interested in joining the Cleft Community Advisory Council (CCAC) or the Cleft Community Support Council (CCSC) through Smile Train, applications are now open!

Apply to Join the Smile Train's Cleft Community Advisory Council

12/11/2025

The American Cleft Palate Craniofacial Association (ACPA) published this in Variety magazine! Thank you ACPA and Smile Train for bringing awareness about changes the film and television industry desperately need to make.

A film titled Werwulf, a horror film coming out in 2026, has a character played by actress Lily-Rose Depp who had a prosthetic cleft lip made.

My child’s birth difference isn’t your costume.

12/02/2025

Thank you, Smile Train for sharing this story and making people aware. Behavior like this is unacceptable and inexcusable. There is no place for it!

In my opinion, a fine feels like a slap on the wrist. This player needs a perspective change by spending a few hours volunteering at the local children’s hospital.

11/26/2025

This is such amazing news to share! A HUGE thank you to American Cleft Palate Craniofacial Association - ACPA for making this available… Especially for cleft affected families in the Indianapolis area! Cleft Warrior Woman made a portrait of Henry and her collection and it’s going to be a full circle moment for us 💖

✨ ANNOUNCING: The U.S. Tour of 100 Cleft Portraits ✨

ACPA is proud to bring Artist, Advocate, and Trauma Informed Coach Katie Manning and her powerful exhibition, 100 Cleft Portraits, to cities across the United States in Summer 2026.

This nationwide tour celebrates the beauty, strength, and lived experiences of people born with cleft and craniofacial conditions, inviting communities to meet cleft with understanding, not assumptions.

The tour will visit ACPA Approved Teams in July and August of 2026 in the following cities:
Philadelphia • Salt Lake City • Winston-Salem • Atlanta • Orlando • Grand Rapids • Indianapolis • Chicago • Madison • Kansas City • Houston • San Diego

Join us in spreading representation, belonging, and hope.
🤝 Become a sponsor
💛 Donate to support the tour
📣 Share with your community
📍 Volunteer or host at a tour stop

Together, we’re bringing these stories and this movement to families across the country.