An Orphan's Smile
Donation protected
I am reaching out to all of you to ask you to help me, urgently, help a real Angel in need. A person who has only known pain and disappointment yet continues to show the world around her compassion and love. We started out as friends but now I consider her family.
We have 30 days to raise $20,000 to help her. Please donate whatever you can. This is important for all of us.
Meet Morgan. She is an American woman who is almost 65 years old and has special needs. This photograph illustrates the condition of her dental health. Let me tell you her story...
Morgan was born in 1953 and went straight into an orphanage right after birth. She was never adopted by a family. She spent a lot of time at the orphanage until she started being passed around in foster homes. There was one foster home that she "stayed" at for the longest period of time. 8 years to be exact. At the age of 10 she began being abused, beaten, taunted, and tortured on daily basis. She describes it as "living in hell". She was taken out of the 5th grade and never allowed to go back to school. She was trapped inside the house and was never allowed to go out. She was treated as a slave :( She was given bread and water as her main source of nourishment. Her growth was severely stunted and overall health was in jeopardy for many years.
In the 8 years that she was at this foster home she was never given a toothbrush or any toothpaste. Most of her teeth have rotted out. She is missing a handful of teeth on the bottom in the back on both side and also up top in the back and the front. I thought to myself "how does she chew her food?" She basically can't. Up until now she has survived on eating soup, soft food, puree and liquids. The few teeth of her own are cavity ridden and have root canals and fillings etc. My heart broke for her. Every human being should be able to chew food properly and eat adult food as an adult (basic necessity). I also noticed that every time she spoke or wanted to smile/laugh she would cover her mouth with her hands. She told me she was "embarrassed" by the condition of her mouth at her age. That broke my heart even more.
I met Morgan many many years ago. I immediately connected with her and felt her kind and innocent nature. She described to me that she is "alone in the world". She never had any family, she never got married and never had any children. Despite all of her disabilities and shortcomings she holds a full time job stocking shelves at a drug store earning minimum wage. She has worked non-stop her entire life starting from the age of 10. She has never collected welfare, disability, unemployment, food stamps or any of those assistance programs that the government offers because she is hard working and proud and never wanted to accept a hand out.
After meeting this woman I vowed that I would help her as much as I possibly could. I have helped her with little things all along the way since we met and this year I promised that I would help her fix her teeth so she can eat like the rest of us and talk freely without being embarrassed.
My first call was to my good friend Dr. Bill Dorfman, world renowned dentist in Century City, California. He's best known for all of the work he does on the show Extreme Makeover and the lives that he changes as a result. I shared Morgan's story with him and he selflessly offered to do the work pro bono! He will not be charging anything for his time and skills in re-doing her entire mouth! Which many of you know is ten of thousands of dollars. I am beyond grateful to him and his compassion. The only thing left is to raise money for the laboratory who is responsible for building the new teeth, crowns and partial dentures that will go into her new mouth. And of course any other raw materials that are needed, x-rays, CT scans etc.
I am coming to you (my friends/family/community) to ask for help for this woman who so desperately needs our help. The system failed her tremendously and I want to turn that around for her and give her what she has wanted her whole life - a healthy mouth.
If you feel compelled to serve the less fortunate like I do and if you feel compassion towards her and her story please donate. There is no donation too small, everything is welcome. You will change her life forever!
I will be withdrawing the funds and I will be responsible for allocating the funds directly to the dentist, laboratory and any other related expenses for Morgan getting her teeth fixed.
Thank you,
Alessandra N. Darouvar
We have 30 days to raise $20,000 to help her. Please donate whatever you can. This is important for all of us.
Meet Morgan. She is an American woman who is almost 65 years old and has special needs. This photograph illustrates the condition of her dental health. Let me tell you her story...
Morgan was born in 1953 and went straight into an orphanage right after birth. She was never adopted by a family. She spent a lot of time at the orphanage until she started being passed around in foster homes. There was one foster home that she "stayed" at for the longest period of time. 8 years to be exact. At the age of 10 she began being abused, beaten, taunted, and tortured on daily basis. She describes it as "living in hell". She was taken out of the 5th grade and never allowed to go back to school. She was trapped inside the house and was never allowed to go out. She was treated as a slave :( She was given bread and water as her main source of nourishment. Her growth was severely stunted and overall health was in jeopardy for many years.
In the 8 years that she was at this foster home she was never given a toothbrush or any toothpaste. Most of her teeth have rotted out. She is missing a handful of teeth on the bottom in the back on both side and also up top in the back and the front. I thought to myself "how does she chew her food?" She basically can't. Up until now she has survived on eating soup, soft food, puree and liquids. The few teeth of her own are cavity ridden and have root canals and fillings etc. My heart broke for her. Every human being should be able to chew food properly and eat adult food as an adult (basic necessity). I also noticed that every time she spoke or wanted to smile/laugh she would cover her mouth with her hands. She told me she was "embarrassed" by the condition of her mouth at her age. That broke my heart even more.
I met Morgan many many years ago. I immediately connected with her and felt her kind and innocent nature. She described to me that she is "alone in the world". She never had any family, she never got married and never had any children. Despite all of her disabilities and shortcomings she holds a full time job stocking shelves at a drug store earning minimum wage. She has worked non-stop her entire life starting from the age of 10. She has never collected welfare, disability, unemployment, food stamps or any of those assistance programs that the government offers because she is hard working and proud and never wanted to accept a hand out.
After meeting this woman I vowed that I would help her as much as I possibly could. I have helped her with little things all along the way since we met and this year I promised that I would help her fix her teeth so she can eat like the rest of us and talk freely without being embarrassed.
My first call was to my good friend Dr. Bill Dorfman, world renowned dentist in Century City, California. He's best known for all of the work he does on the show Extreme Makeover and the lives that he changes as a result. I shared Morgan's story with him and he selflessly offered to do the work pro bono! He will not be charging anything for his time and skills in re-doing her entire mouth! Which many of you know is ten of thousands of dollars. I am beyond grateful to him and his compassion. The only thing left is to raise money for the laboratory who is responsible for building the new teeth, crowns and partial dentures that will go into her new mouth. And of course any other raw materials that are needed, x-rays, CT scans etc.
I am coming to you (my friends/family/community) to ask for help for this woman who so desperately needs our help. The system failed her tremendously and I want to turn that around for her and give her what she has wanted her whole life - a healthy mouth.
If you feel compelled to serve the less fortunate like I do and if you feel compassion towards her and her story please donate. There is no donation too small, everything is welcome. You will change her life forever!
I will be withdrawing the funds and I will be responsible for allocating the funds directly to the dentist, laboratory and any other related expenses for Morgan getting her teeth fixed.
Thank you,
Alessandra N. Darouvar
Organizer
Alessandra Sandy Darouvar
Organizer
Los Angeles, CA
