Joe Cartolano personally sponsored more than 20,000 surgeries through WonderWork.

That’s 20,000 children and adults who were crippled with clubfoot  – but now can stand, walk and run.

Who were severely burned and disfigured  — but now have undergone plastic and reconstructive surgery that is rebuilt their bodies and their faces.

And who wore blind  — but now have received surgery that was restored their eyesight.

That’s 20,000 lives that have been changed forever thanks to one man.

Joe was not just extremely generous with his donations, he was generous with his time. He used to call us all the time and when the work to see how we were doing, ask about our programs and the children we were helping and to encourage us.

He used to come in to our offices in meet the whole team  –  he knew everyone’s name – and take us out to lunch. And at Christmas he’d send this big platters of brownies or cookies. He always felt more like a friend in the donor.

And when  we really struggled to keep WonderWork alive, when Charles Wang’s  legal attacks were at their worst, Joe stuck with us and believed in us. he used to call me all the time to see how we were making out. We always knew he was behind us 100%. That meant a lot.

When I started Smile Train I tried to turn all of my friends into donors.  it I was always very grateful when they did.

But as the years went by,  the opposite started to happen.  Many of our donors turned into friends.

Joe Cartolano  is a great example of that.