About
About the Smile A While Foundation
OUR STORY
The Smile A While Foundation is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization that creates a continuous pipeline of pediatric therapists to the Caribbean. We do this by recruiting graduate therapy students who are looking for placement sites to complete their clinical fieldwork rotations and providing funding for licensed therapists and other professionals who work with children with special needs.
The idea for the Smile A While Foundation took root while our founder Joanne Oates was in occupational therapy school and continued to grow as she began her career as a therapist.
In this role, time and again, she realized the impact that the support of a specialized team can have on a child with special needs. With consistent and accessible therapy, children with autism spectrum disorders, cerebral palsy, and other special needs can live their best lives.
On June 29, 2021, Joanne founded the Smile A While Foundation to create more access to therapy services for children in the Caribbean, where services are often limited and unaffordable.
By sponsoring licensed pediatric therapists and therapy students, Smile A While connects people, communities, and cultures and provides a continuous stream of therapy for children who would otherwise have no access to these services.
Our Staff
Joanne Oates
Founder & CEO
Joanne Oates is a pediatric occupational therapist based in New York City with 6 years of experience working with children with special needs.
She began her career as a therapist focused on early childhood development. Joanne received her M.S. in Occupational Therapy from Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New York. She is currently pursuing her doctorate of Occupational Therapy (OTD) from Temple University.
Joanne is a member of the National Black Occupational Therapy Caucus, the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), and the Coalition of Occupational Therapy Advocates for Diversity (COTAD).
As an American of Jamaican descent, Joanne has a passion for bringing together people and resources to address the health and educational disparities that exist between special needs children in America and the Caribbean.
Our Board of Directors
Joanne Oates, OTRL/R
FOUNDER & CEO
Andre B. Toussaint, PhD
TREASURER
Stephanie Oates, JD
SECRETARY
Islands We Serve
Jamaica
The Jamaican Population Census of 2001 noted that there were 162,800 persons who self-identified as having a disability in Jamaica. Children under 14 make 21% of that population (Unicef, 2018). Sadly, most children with disabilities in Jamaica aren’t getting the support they need.
While in America, therapy services for children with diagnosed disabilities are free, in Jamaica, therapy services are limited and often only available in Kingston, which can mean hours of traveling for some families. This makes the proper care for a child to achieve a quality life simply unrealistic.
Smile A While supports schools for children with special needs in Jamaica by providing therapists, equipment, and funds for travel and professional development. This critical support can change the trajectory of a child’s life and lead to positive health and quality of life outcomes.
*Picture used is from the 2022 Annual Report
Annual Reports
2024 Annual Report
2024 has been a year of growth and new beginnings.
Some of our proudest achievements include:
- Sending a Stander wheelchair to Jamaica
- Creating our core ECHO Autism Jamaica team
- Coordinating our next cohort of students for January 2025
- Launching our Occupational Therapy Bus fundraising campaign
