Current partners

Here are some of the amazing charities we have partnered with, the trusts who have generously funded research projects and the companies that have donated time, money and resources. We can't thank them enough!

Trusts and foundations

The Christos Lazari Foundation

The Hargrave Foundation

The Charis Trust

The Gay & Keith Talbot Trust

Charles Wolfson Charitable Trust

The Irving Memorial Trust

The Sir Samuel Scott of Yews Trust

The Northwick Trust

The J P Jacobs Charitable Trust

The Sylvia Waddilove Foundation

The Junior Charitable Trust

Other cleft charities & charities supporting facial differences

Transforming Faces is a charity based in Canada with a similar ethos to ours about the importance of helping to build sustainable multidisciplinary cleft centres in resource poor countries.

BFirst is the international development charity linked to the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. It aims to develop international surgery and training in poorer countries in other aspects of reconstructive surgery. We plan to work closely with BFirst by developing cleft centres in these countries which include surgeons but also the other specialties which are essential for the comprehensive care of children and adults born with cleft lip and palate and related conditions.

The Craniofacial Society of Great Britain and Ireland

Companies and organisations

The British Dental Students' Association (BDSA) is a student body run by an annually elected Executive Committee and student representatives from each UK dental school. The association was founded in 1942 and today represents over 5,000 dental students in the UK.

CLEFT is proud to be the BDSA's Chosen Charity for 2021/2022.

Latest

Rona, Richard, Jon and Simon ride 100 miles

Join us in raising funds for the CLEFT: Bridging the Gap! CLEFT has 2 great aims: to support sustainable and multidisciplinary cleft care in lower and middle income countries (surgery is important but only part of the journey), and to support research into the causes and provision of cleft care in the UK.
Zhi's Dublin Marathon Fundraiser

I am raising money to provide long-term, sustainable ways to improve cleft care both in the UK and overseas.
Nick and Kathleen's Wedding Fundraiser

We are raising money to provide long-term, sustainable ways to improve cleft care both in the UK and overseas.
The difference a Comprehensive Cleft and Craniofacial Centre can make

During his visit to Dhaka earlier this year, Mr Brian Sommerlad (Chair of CLEFT and Consultant Plastic Surgeon) saw a number of familiar faces in the clinic. Shahriah and Khadjiatul are two patients requiring a large number of operations and complex treatments throughout their lifetime.

Craniofacial Society of Great Britain and Ireland

CLEFT has strong links with the Craniofacial Society of Great Britain and Ireland and for the last few years, has been striving for even greater collaboration with our shared commitment to improving treatment for patients through multidisciplinary cleft care.
The Circle of Cleft Professionals

Canadian charity, Transforming Faces, is a founding sponsor of the global network of cleft professionals and charity leaders committed to promoting Comprehensive Cleft Care (CCC) in resource-constrained contexts. CLEFT is proud to be one of the eleven cleft NGOS that backs the CoCP, working together to enable collaboration and learning amongst cleft professionals from all around the world.
Partner with us

Support your Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) through corporate giving.

Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burns and Plastic Surgery

We are working with Bangladeshi specialists at the new Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burns and Plastic Surgery to create a sustainable centre to treat children with cleft lip and palate.
Nawrin and the C-Arm

This important piece of equipment was supplied by CLEFT and is used to see moving images of the cleft palate. Nawrin is a 13 year old girl who was experiencing speech difficulties and needed the C-Arm to show the cleft team if further surgery was required.
Our mission

CLEFT was established in 2007 with one aim, to help improve the lives of children born with cleft lip and palate, either by funding research into the likely causes of the condition or by helping support teams in lower and middle income countries.
Donate

You can make a one-off donation today or sign up to giving a regular monthly gift. All donations, small or large, will help us to improve the lives of those born with cleft lip and palate both now and in the future. 100% of your donation today will go towards funding an international or research project thanks to a charitable trust covering all our administrative costs until February 2025.
About us

CLEFT was established in 2007 by cleft surgeon Brian Sommerlad - based at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, together with a former patient and a patient's grandmother.
The genetics of cleft lip and palate

Investigations into the genetics of cleft lip and palate to understand more about why cleft lip and palate occurs.
Brian Sommerlad, Consultant Plastic Surgeon and Chair of Trustees

For over 40 years, I have been involved in operating on babies, children and adults who have been born with cleft lip and/or palate.
Our research vision

At CLEFT, our vision is of a future where clefts are preventable. Until we get there, we want to improve the lives of those born with cleft lip and palate.
Trusts and Foundations

Today, 1-in-700 babies in the UK are born with a cleft lip and palate, the most common form of birth defect. The impact on a child’s life as they grow is profound. Typically, they will need at least four operations. They may also require ongoing tests, treatment or therapy. It will affect the way they look but also their speech, hearing and dental development. It can leave deep psychological scars.
Our philosophy

The two arms of CLEFT are brought together by our mission to bridge the gap in cleft care and knowledge both in the UK and around the world. Our international and research philosophies are at the very heart of our work.