Together, we have evolved into Spreading Hope and Smiles Foundation to continue to "spread hope and smiles" in our local communities! The Spreading Hope and Smiles Foundation works to financially support organizations who promote the health and well-being of children and their families. We help ensure that impactful programs remain funded so they can continue to provide essential research, education, and services to families and children in need. Formerly Team Abigail and Team Super Smile, we are a group of people who have worked together since 2007 to support the March of Dimes & Abigail Hays. In 2013, we changed our team name to create a team that honored Lily Moylan as well. The team name was changed to Team Super Smile to represent the character & smiles of two very special girls. In July of 2020, our group earned official 501(c)3 status and began operating as the Spreading Hope and Smiles Foundation to support the health and well-being of children and their families. Lily Moylan, the daughter of Steve & Jen, baby sister to Haley, & now big sister to Alexis & Isabelle, was born on 3/11/12. Lily led a healthy life, meeting all milestones and regularly flashed her smile at anyone who met her glance. In late August of 2012, Lily came down with a high fever. After her fever stopped responding to medication, she was rushed to the hospital. Lily was diagnosed with a UTI & was given antibiotics. Her affect returned quickly, her fever reduced, & she returned to her smiling, babbling self. Approximately 12 hours later on 8/26/12, Lily was found unresponsive in her bouncy chair. After a full autopsy & additional research studies, Lily’s cause of death is still largely unexplained. Abigail Hays, daughter to Ami & Jeff & big sister to Carlie & Siobhan was born on 7/14/06. Abigail was born with a rare birth defect, Type C TEF (Trachiaesophageal Fistula) which caused food and secretions to get into her lungs. This was a result of VACTERL Syndrome which brought defects to Abigail’s vertebrae, heart, trachea, esophagus, & intestines. Abigail was fortunate to be an immediate candidate for life-saving surgery at just under a day old. It has left her with complications from esophageal nerve damage & missing cartilage in her airway, causing her to have a weak trachea. She has had a total of 9 surgeries, 4 of which were life-saving in her 1st year. In May of 2017, she had a neck & spinal fusion to correct her defected vertebrae that began to cause complications. Abbie continues to have eating restrictions & constant monitoring for choking. Abigail has a rare chromosome disorder, deletion of 16p11.2 that surfaced when she was 5 years old but red flags went up when she was in 1st grade. She has since been diagnosed with ASD & Language and written expression disorder. The last few years have been a challenge, however no one works harder than Abigail to keep up and be understood. We have learned so much from Abigail and Lily and we hope to use those lessons to help positively impact families and children in our community. Thank you so much for helping us to spread their hope and smiles!
