Our Family Is the Foundation.

Before The Smiley Foundation was an organization, Smiley was our family name. A name held together by love, laughter, loyalty, and showing up for one another. Neko was an irreplaceable part of our family, our son, our brother, and someone whose energy, love, and presence helped make the Smiley family who we are.

Losing Neko to suicide changed the shape of our family forever, but it did not break the bond that continues to hold us together. Through that loss, we learned that family is more than the people you belong to. Family is who holds you close, sees beyond your smile, and refuses to let you carry life alone.

Now, we are extending that same love beyond our family. We are creating spaces where people feel seen, heard, and supported, where honest conversations are welcomed, and where healing happens together.

Our family is where this began. Neko is why it matters. Our community is where the love continues.

IN HONOR OF MY BROTHER, NEKO SMILEY

He Will Always Be the Reason.

Neko was more than my brother. He was one of the coolest, most creative and unforgettable people I have ever known. He was smart, loving, funny, and full of personality. He loved music and made songs of his own. He loved fitness, getting dressed, looking good, smiling, laughing, and having a good time. He was the life of the party, and when Neko entered a room, you felt him.

My brother touched so many lives simply by being himself. His energy brought people together, his laughter was contagious, and his presence left an impression you could not forget. I wish he could have seen himself through the eyes of everyone who loved him. I wish he had known how much his life mattered. That is what Beyond the Smile means to me. Neko's smile and happiness were real. But they were not his whole story. His life taught me to look deeper, listen closer, and love people loudly while they are still here.

I refuse to let the way my brother died become the most important thing people know about him. Neko lived. He created. He laughed. He loved. He made music. He brought joy into rooms and left pieces of himself in more hearts than he probably ever realized.

The Smiley Foundation is our family's way of carrying that love forward.

Neko will always be the reason we look Beyond The Smile.