Moore Norman Technology Center

by Debra Martinelli
Sitting in an MNTC Entrepreneurship class in late fall 2010, Adam Graham had an epiphany for his DECA state community service project. Not only would he raise money, he decided, he also would create a nonprofit foundation to honor the life of his cousin, Sydney Paige Medley, who died September 2, 2010 at age 9.

The result was the Sydney’s Smiles Foundation, whose mission is to help other Oklahoma children suffering from serious medical conditions.

Currently a senior at Moore High School and a student in the MNTC Entrepreneurship class, Graham serves as president of the foundation and is responsible for day-to-day operations. The 12 members of the board of directors each bring a special expertise to the organization. For example, one is a physical therapist at the Children’s Hospital at OU Medical Center, while another handles medical equipment for a national pharmacy chain. The organization’s vice president, Amy Braun, was Sydney’s first-grade teacher. 

“Sydney was a normal little girl until one day in October 2007 she woke up and couldn’t walk,” Graham remembers. “She lost her eyesight and couldn’t eat. Her body was attacking itself. Sydney was in and out of hospitals, including the Mayo Clinic, for three years. She faced many obstacles but she never gave up.”

Since Graham established the Sydney’s Smiles Foundation in January 2011, the organization already has provided assistance to three Oklahoma children and their families. One mother received a fully-equipped handicap access van so she could transport her young son from southeastern Oklahoma to Oklahoma City for regular medical appointments. A child with a condition that hinders communication and social skills got an iPad to help improve his learning and language proficiencies. Most recently, a Norman youngster received a replacement for a special hand brace that was destroyed in a house fire. 

Most of the funding for the Sydney’s Smiles Foundation comes from private donations. But the organization also held three successful fundraising events in 2011 – a Chick-fil-A Spirit Night; Smiles in the Park cookout; and Two Steppin’ with Sydney Smiles, a dinner and silent auction – and sells Sydney Smiles Foundation T-shirts.

“We did a lot this year. Filing for [IRS charitable organization] 501(c)(3) status is expensive,” Graham says with a smile. The next big fundraiser is a golf tournament scheduled for fall 2012.

The foundation raises awareness through its website http://sydneysmilesfoundation.tk through email, Facebook, Twitter, and brochures available at pharmacies and physicians offices. “We have more than 400 Facebook ‘likes’ now,” Graham reports. “That’s how most people communicate with us.”

When he isn’t running the Sydney’s Smiles Foundation, Graham juggles school and a part-time job. After graduation in May, he plans to major in political science at Southwestern Oklahoma State University, followed by law school and a career in nonprofit law. One day in the not-so-distant future he’d like to run for a seat in the Oklahoma House of Representatives. “I love politics,” he said.

His real passions, though, are philanthropy and entrepreneurship.

For more information about MNTC’s Entrepreneurship class visit www.mntechnology.com or call 405-364-5763.

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