Hi Friends,

I'm writing to tell you about an incredible boy that needs our help.

We first met Austin in December at our annual holiday event. He is almost 10 years old and was born with a cleft lip and eye. The lip was partially repaired when he was 3 months old, but he still has a gap in the gum line. Austin is missing teeth as a result.

Austin has seen doctors and dentists off and on throughout his life, but his family has not had the means to fix these problems. They are living below the poverty level at a pay-by-the-week motel in Anaheim. The family has Kaiser insurance from the father's employer, but the copayment and medication charges were more than the family have been able to pay.

Austin has had to switch schools because he was being teased everyday and came home crying. Things are better at his new school but we want to help solve this for Austin as soon as possible. We know the teasing will likely get worse as he gets older. Austin is a very bright boy with a very positive outlook. We are confident that correcting these problems for Austin would provide for a much better life filled with unlimited possibilities.

PLEASE HELP US by spreading the word about Austin by forwarding this link to your friends and family.

We are talking to facial reconstructive surgeons and cosmetic dentists about donating their services. We are setting up appointments for Austin to meet with the doctors and begin the process.

You can help by spreading the word to help raise money to make this happen. We will need to cover surgery center costs and on-going care for the next year. If you would like to donate to Austin's cause, please email me at TheHappinessProj@aol.com, or donate through this secure website.

As you can probably tell, I am passionate about helping Austin. Every morning I think of Austin getting up and going to school with what he considers to be an embarrassing appearance. It isn't fair and with your help, we're going to make it right!

Thanks so much,

Lindsay Dickhout