A Smile for Emily

At just 18 years old, Emily Keefner has endured more than 30 reconstructive procedures to correct a bilateral cleft lip and palate deformity. She has been a patient of the Craniofacial Clinic at UMass Memorial Medical Center since she was born, and is now giving back to the institution that has treated her since birth. Emily has raised $17,000 towards a $50,000 multidisciplinary database for the Clinic which will allow them to track patient outcomes, national trials, and provide consistent outreach.  She trying to change payment laws in New York. Emily has contributed more than 500 hours of volunteering for the Clinic, her local food pantry, the fire department and the Berkshire Humane Society. She is a member of the Fireman's Association of the State of New York, a certified first responder and an excellent flutist—a particularly difficult instrument for a cleft palate patient.
Without this surgery her jaw will colapse and nothing else can be done to help her.
Her mother has lost her job right before this very needed surgery and really needs your help.