Military Friends Foundation Joins with Four Gold Star Families to Launch Operation Smiles

Last week, at our first Annual Meeting and Award Dinner, the Military Friends Foundation was pleased to announce a partnership with four Gold Star Families to establish a special program to support service members and their families called Operation Smiles.

Operation Smiles is the vision of Paul and Carlene Barrett, parents of SGT Robert J. Barrett of Fall River who was killed in Afghanistan on 2010. According to his mom and dad, Robert’s view of life was to always “pay it forward,” give back to others and treat others the what you would want to be treated.

The families of SGT Robert Barrett of Fall River, Lt. Scott Milley of Sudbury, SPC Scott Andrews of Fall River, and SGT Jose Cintron-Rosado, whose son is from Worcester, join the Military Friends Foundation  to launch Operation Smiles  As part of the program’s launch, the Foundation made an inaugural contribution of $10,000 to the project – $2500 in honor of each of the four founding Gold Star Families.

To honor his son’s memory, and the memories of Lt. Scott Milley of Sudbury, SPC Scott Andrews of Fall River and SGT Jose Cintron-Rosado, whose son is from Worcester, the Foundation has partnered with these families to create the “Operation Smiles” program. The purpose of the program is to – in Paul and Carlene Barrett’s words – put a little extra “smile” into the lives of our service members and their families.

As part of the program’s launch, the Foundation made an inaugural contribution of $10,000 to the project – $2500 in honor of each of the four founding Gold Star Families.

Over the course of the next few weeks, we’ll be releasing more details on “Operation Smiles” and how you can participate – either with your time, your money, or both. If you’re interested in staying up to date with the latest on Operation Smiles and other Foundation programs, be sure to join us on Facebook and visit our website regularly.