On Monday, Nov. 16, the Sacred Heart Simply Smiles Club held a virtual colloquium with guest speaker Bryan Nurnberger, who is the founder and president of the Connecticut nonprofit organization which started in 2003.
The colloquium gave the SHU community an opportunity to learn about Simply Smiles’ mission, success and progress over the years, as well as ways to get involved directly with the club and organization.
Simply Smiles works with many schools, and Sacred Heart is the only university with a club that supports them.
“The easiest way for students to get involved with the club while at home is to email myself or Holly to join and also follow our Instagram @shu_simplysmiles_club for updates,” said senior Laura Scheideler, SHU Simply Smiles Co-President.
Simply Smiles works to provide bright futures for children, families and communities.
“We partner with those in need to create physical and emotional environments where suffering is relieved and local leaders can then emerge,” said Nurnberger. “That is what we work
toward every day, making sure each child every time they smile is a stepping stone on a path toward a brighter future.”
In 2002, Nurnberger was a professional mountain climber when he suffered an injury that kept him off the mountains for some time. He devised a plan to go to Mexico to travel and recuperate.
“I ended up in Oaxaca, Mexico. When I stumbled upon an orphanage, something led me to knock on the door, and I volunteered to help for the day, as I could tell they were struggling. I ended up staying for months as a caretaker and fell in love with the community. On my way back to the United States, I suddenly no longer wanted to mountain climb and was inspired to start Simply Smiles,” said Nurnberger.
In 2003, Simply Smiles became an official organization. By 2006, the orphanage in Oaxaca was a model home: all the children were in school, and Simply Smiles started to give college scholarships.
“Since then, in Mexico, Simply Smiles has built 27 homes for families living in trash dumps,” said Nurnberger. “We have distributed over 3.5 million meals, built three schools and reduced the parasitic infection rate in the jungles of Mexico by 50%, partnering with UConn and many pharmaceutical companies in areas the government is unable to reach.”
As an organization, Simply Smiles has their own strategies toward change and brighter futures in communities.
“By developing a model of foster care with a hybrid between a traditional foster home on your own and a group home, we built a whole neighborhood of this, making it unique. There are similar organizations but no other working directly on Indian reservations,” said Nurnberger.
In 2009, Simply Smiles began working in partnership with the Lakota people of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe reservations in South Dakota. The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (CRST) is an autonomous nation within the borders of the United States.
“I have never been in a more challenging place to work than the Cheyenne River reservation. The economic poverty and historical trauma, etc., are prevalent, and we have put our full efforts into making sustainable change in Indian country. SHU has been by our side making an impact both in Mexico and South Dakota,” said Nurnberger.
Sacred Heart has been sending students to the Simply Smiles homes in both Oaxaca and South Dakota on service learning trips since the spring of 2018.
“Students are able to connect with the people in these communities and work toward the Simply Smiles mission to provide bright futures for those children, families and communities,” said Scheideler. “These connections are what led us to want to start a club on campus and continue making an impact.”
