Helping Others Smile

Jamie is one of my best friends.   Actually, he is basically a brother to me. We grew up together in the same small town, on the same hill, riding the same bus to school.  He is the same age as my younger brother so that's how we met, but he quickly became my friend as well.  When I played in our powder puff football game in high school my senior year I wore his jersey and got the first mud stain on his football pants (give him a break, he was only a sophomore at the time).

By the time my brother Andy, Jamie, and I went to college, we were pretty much inseparable, meeting up to eat lunch and watch Conan together.  Here we are at a Halloween Party at IUP.

We still make time to see each other as much as possible, even though he now lives in Connecticut with his wife, Lisa, and I live across the state of Pennsylvania from where we both grew up.

Let me tell you something else about Jamie.  He was born with a cleft lip and palate.  Here he is at 5 weeks old with a pretty sweet combover.

He has never let his multiple surgeries change him, except for the better.  He spent a lot of time in hospitals, but he ALWAYS had a smile on his face and was making those around him smile, too.

Now he is trying to raise $500 to help two kids with the same condition get the surgeries they need to help them smile.  You can help by checking out the link and donating.