Community Connection: SMILE

Samantha Makes It a Little Easier, or SMILE, is a nonprofit founded in memory of the Executive Director Dr. Kristen Mantlo’s sister Samantha—an artist, pole vaulter, and pediatric cancer patient. As part of her treatment, she became an above-the-knee amputee and wanted to be able to return to pole vaulting. In order to do so, she needed a prosthetic that was costly. Friends and family fundraised to help purchase, but she was never able to receive it. When she learned treatment wasn’t working, she asked that they use the funds to help other children like her. SMILE was founded in her memory to honor her request. Their SMILE Kids Program provides children impacted by a life-threatening condition with assistive and adaptive technology and equipment to enhance their quality of life. If you’d like to know more about changing a child’s life, you can go to smileasier.org.