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PARK CITY -- Celebrities hit the slopes Saturday morning for a good cause.
The event was a benefit for Operation Smile, a non-profit organization that donates correction operations to underprivileged children born with cleft lips and palates. The Smile Ski Challenge was held at The Canyons Ski Resort and raised nearly $200,000, which would cover the cost of more than 800 surgeries.
President of NBC Entertainment, Jennifer Salke, organized the event for a cause that she knows a bit about. Her son, Henry, was born with the condition Operation Smile corrects.
"I had a cleft lip and so I saw the charity and what they were doing for kids who couldn't afford the surgeries, so I decided it was time to take action," Henry Salke, Operation Smile Youth Ambassador said.
It's so pervasive the help they are getting. It's not just a smile, it's confidence and belonging.
–- Lisa Kudrow, 'Friends'
Ty Burrell, of ABC's "Modern Family," was at The Canyons giving his support to the organization, and the kids it affects.
"My best friend growing up had a double cleft palette," Burrell said. "He was the beneficiary of some new surgeries at the time. …So just knowing what it's meant to him and what it's done for his life, it's an amazing thing."
Cory Monteith, from the musical television series "Glee" also showed up for the event, but enjoyed the terrain as well.
"I love this, look at this," he said. "It's God's country. It's amazing."
Not everyone hit the slopes, though, including Burrell's costar, Jesse Tyler Ferguson.
"I've never skied before in my life," Ferguson said. "I'm going to take a lesson later. I want it to be very private. Closed set."
Some, like Lisa Kudrow from "Friends" were smiling about supporting a cause that would spread smiles around the world.
"It's so pervasive the help they are getting," Kudrow said. "It's not just a smile, it's confidence and belonging and feeling like, ‘Yes I'm part of a group and I go to a school and can do well.' They all just soar afterwards."
Operation Smile hopes to make the Smile Ski Challenge an annual event.
