Kimora Lee Simmons knows the value of self-confidence. The Smile Train ambassador told why, along with ESSENCE, she devotes her time and resources to the organization coping with clefts during the gala celebrating the 25th anniversary of treatment in Cipriani.

Smile Train supports local physicians with educational and material resources so that they can provide free cleft surgery and comprehensive cleft care to children around the world. They take a holistic approach to care, providing patients with post-operative care and, in some cases, supporting them through multiple surgeries. The event helped raise funds for all surgeries, including 3D printed cleft stimulation kits. They help surgeons perform treble procedures, potentially reducing the risk of certain complications. According to the study, black patients have significantly more complications.

Smile Train announced its 2 millionth free surgery at the event. The news was met with thunderous applause from donors who were willing to lighten their pockets for the cause.

Her daughters, Ming Lee and Aoki Lee, presented her with the Smile Train Goodwill Ambassador Award. In her speech, Lee Simmons described seeing a patient blossom and imitating a model’s walk down the runway after surgery. The patient was planning her future after seeing herself in a brand new light.

“I have Stephanie on my phone when I walk the runway,” Lee Simmons said excitedly.

“Smile Train allows these young people, from infants through adulthood, to reclaim the lives they didn’t even know they could,” she continued. “These people have been transformed by these surgeries. I saw it. I was in the field. I was with their families.”

Lee Simons admitted that while inner beauty is most vital, outer appearance has an undeniable impact on an individual’s experience. “Beauty truly starts from the inside. What is external also matters a lot.”

She stated that her work is ultimately more about what patients think about their appearance than what they give the impression of being like. “There are as many different beauties as there are people.”

“All these things are about giving it our all and doing the best we can for ourselves,” she added. Lee Simmons uses his inner confidence to face life’s challenges.

“Throughout my journey, I tried to say, look, no one is going to support you if you don’t have support,” she said.

She wants women to harness the power of self-confidence and independence, whether or not they are in a partnership or not. “As a woman, I have to stand on my own two feet,” she said. “You cannot depend on a person in your whole life. It doesn’t matter.

Key patients can face the kind of bullying Lee Simmons faced while growing up in Missouri.

She admits that “being faced with judgment from people who don’t know you can be quite painful.”

She advises people to “be resilient, be beautiful, and shine in all your glory, even when they feel stepped on, looked down upon, or oppressed.”

In her 2006 book, she shared advice on the way to use self-confidence to enhance your life. She described it as a lesson to her “thirteen-year-old self.”

Lee Simons has long supported organizations that concentrate on improving people’s lives, including Dress For Success, where she helps incarcerated women construct their wardrobes in preparation for returning to work. “It’s very vital to me to find a way to provide back. I’ve been doing it my whole life, even before I had children,” she said

Host Jeanie Mai joked that she would reasonably see smiles transformed by Smile Train than the ones she often sees in Hollywood. “These smiles are a mix of veneers and lip fillers. I’m ready for smiles that can truly light up this world,” she said after reaching the podium in a peach dress. Jordin Sparks then performed an energetic set that included an appropriate cover of Frank Sinatra’s “When You’re Smiling.” The crowd sang along to her hit, and Sparks encouraged guests to go to the chapel and hearken to DJ Jazzy Jeff, who hosted the afterparty.

Mai wasn’t the just one in a completely satisfied mood.

Lee Simmons joked that her unfiltered personality is an ideal fit for fundraising. “I have a big mouth, so all I can do is beg people for money,” she said, flashing her charming smile.

You can learn more about the Smile Train mission Here.