Just like everyone else, I've been seeing Smile Train's banner ads for many years now. I got really interested in this organization after reading Steven Levitt's post on the Freakonimics blog a few years ago. However, unlike many others, I didn't really do anything about it, of which I am deeply ashamed. I have a general aversion of charitable institutions of all kinds. Smile Train may be the first, and hopefully not the last, that I feel differently about.

As of 2013 I am a proud member of the Smile Train community and I am going to support them in cash and (hopefully) in kind by providing them my support.

Smile Train is a charitable organization that provides free cleft surgery to poor children all over the world. It was a wonderful organization and run extremely well like an efficient business. At the time of writing this - they've improved the lives of over 800,000 children and are fast approaching their goal of helping a million children. They brought innovation, technology and solid implementation to a seemingly difficult operational process.

I encourage you to visit their excellent website and read about them and see the videos they've produced.

Start your new year in a new way by helping improve the life of a child for less than you pay for coffee in a year and almost more importantly, invest in an organization that manages to be efficient and provides tangible, immediate results - which is more than you can say about most businesses let alone governments.

Happy new year to everyone! Let's hope everyone can find something to smile about.