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"It’s a cold winter day in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is dark, and the streetlights shine upon the snow, making it sparkle like diamonds. I am 8 years old, standing all bundled up in my winter coat, boots, hat, mittens, and scarf, looking at my mom's face. My scarf feels so tight that I can barely breathe; maybe it's not the scarf, maybe it's tightness in my chest and intense pain I feel in my heart as I gaze into my mom's face and see tears running down her face. She is steady and perfectly still, as if frozen; the tears actually look beautiful as they fall, and the light hits them. They are like clear jewels falling from her eyes. We are just standing there, not saying a word, gazing into each other's eyes, in complete darkness under a streetlight with a deep question within our hearts: “What's next?” It was like time just stopped, and there we were, both simultaneously experiencing two of the deepest human emotions, perfect love and utter despair, both at the same time. My mom opened a small round tin jar with oval-shaped fruit-flavored hard candy and handed me one of them. I took it and put it in my mouth - it tasted amazing, raspberry! She said, “Let's go home.” Then we just held hands and walked home in perfect silence, with only the sound of snow crackling under our feet.

It was the day when I learned my dad would be in prison, once again for another 5 years after returning for less than a year from an 8-year sentence!

This past weekend, Dr. Curtis and I had an amazing opportunity to mentor young people at LEAP. LEAP Foundation is nonprofit organization created by Dr. Bill Dorfman - a Beverly Hills dentist known for his participation in Extreme Makeover and The Doctors.

LEAP is a weeklong program at UCLA created to help teens and young adults learn skills they don’t get to learn in high school but do need for success: leadership & communication skills, public speaking, business, and entrepreneurship.

LEAP always has the most amazing speakers: well-known celebrities and other impactful and influential individuals in the business world. THe young people who attend come from all over the world and all walks of life.

It is an incredibly valuable opportunity, so please consider telling a high school or college-age student in your life, or their parents, about LEAP!

I KNOW firsthand what it is like to grow up with limited opportunities, and that is why my heart is broken for people who are in disadvantaged life circumstances. That is why we work with trafficking survivors in San Diego. We also want to make a difference for the next generation.

Therefore, Inspire Smiles will be sponsoring a young person who is not able to afford the tuition for LEAP in 2024. Please help us find the right young person!

Nominate someone who would not be able to afford it on their own (the tuition is about $2500). To nominate a young person, forward this email to info@inspiresmilessd.com and include the name and contact information for both the nominee and yourself, as well as a brief explanation about why this nominee should be chosen. Submissions through 31DEC2023 will be considered.

Other summer reminders if you missed other emails: BOGO Zoom whitening for anyone who has a military connection, FREE Strategy Session for small business owners with Inspire Lives Certified High Performance coaching with Dr. Elona.

To schedule Zoom whitening, call the practice at (858) 876-9100 or respond to this email (info@inspiresmilessd.com).

To schedule a Strategy Session, follow the Inspire Lives link on our sebsite or click the button below.

With love and gratitude,

Elona❤

I want coaching!

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