Greenlawn Girl Born With Cleft Lip Raises $93K For Children Less Fortunate

In her tenth annual year of funding surgeries for children less fortunate, Ella Pastorelli, a 10-year-old from Greenlawn who was born with a cleft lip, decided to change things up.

Ella decided to hold a gala at the Oheka Castle in Huntington on Friday, Sept. 8. The gala raised $93,000 (and counting) that will go towards provide cleft lip surgeries for children who cannot afford it.

Ella has been holding a lemonade stand for the past nine years on her birthday to raise funds for Smile Train, an international children’s charity that provides free cleft lip and palate surgeries to children in developing countries. She has raised approximately $230,000 for Smile Train over the years.

• Ella’s Lemonade Stand in Greenlawn Gets Special Visitor

Ella’s parents were able to provide a corrective surgery for her when she was just four months old, but many children across the world do not have the opportunity to get this necessary surgery. These children with unrepaired clefts can become ostracized by their communities and can oftentimes be unable to attend school, get a job, or get married.

The Pastorelli’s decided to give these children the second change that Ella had.

For the tenth year, Ella's family held a gala at Oheka Castle to meet her ambitious goal of funding an additional 320 smiles in 2017. The minimum cost to provide a full surgery for a child is $250, according to Smile Train. In 2015, Ella's lemonade stand raised $21,000. In 2016, it raised $19,000. It's safe to say her gala was a huge success.

Photo Credit: Christopher Appoldt