Smile Train Celebrates World Smile Day®

Smile Train Invites Everyone Around the World to Join the Party

News provided by

Oct 07, 2016, 09:00 ET

NEW YORK, Oct. 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, people all over the world will be celebrating World Smile Day^® and in honor of this special day, Smile Train, the world's largest cleft organization, launched a campaign to celebrate all of the people who contribute to their work. For years, Smile Train has helped the international community to understand that cleft lip and/or palate surgery is not just a cosmetic fix, behind every new smile created is a fresh opportunity for children to lead healthy and happy lives. The campaign aims to get the whole world smiling and to create awareness about Smile Train's efforts.

To kick off the celebrations, Smile Train's Young Leadership Circle (YLC) hosted their 3^rd Annual World Smile Day^® event last night, Thursday, October 6 at Verlaine Bar & Lounge. Over 100 guests enjoyed cocktails and appetizers along with a presentation from YLC Board Members about Smile Train's sustainable training model, which empowers local doctors in developing countries to provide 100 percent free cleft repair surgery and comprehensive cleft care in their own communities.

"World Smile Day^® is a perfect opportunity for us to celebrate all of the smiles that Smile Train creates, every day of the year. It's also our chance to honor the people who make our work possible, our supporters, our medical partners and our staff and many others," said Smile Train CEO Susannah Schaefer.

Smile Train invites everyone around the world to join in the World Smile Day^® celebration and post a picture on Instagram showing how they are having fun and using the #SmileTrainWSD hashtag. Smile Train also encourages those who were able to order a World Smile Day® party kit to post pictures with items from the kit as well. All Instagram photos will be featured on smiletrain.org/wsd and each post will be entered to win a personalized video from a surprise celebrity supporter.

Smile Train will also host a stream of pop-up events around the world including:

Empire State Building Lighting: Today, October 7, the Empire State Building will be lit in Smile Train's signature red and blue colors in celebration of the day.
Corporate Partners: Some of Smile Train's corporate partners will be planning their own celebrations. Today, October 7, GroupM will be hosting a fundraising breakfast benefiting Smile Train at the GroupM office at Red Lion Square in London. For more information on how you can get involved, click here.
Raise a Cuppa. Raise a Smile.: Smile Train's UK team has launched their annual campaign which asks supporters to host a 'Raise a cuppa. Raise a smile.' fundraiser to help generate awareness and create more smiles. Learn more about this campaign and how corporate sponsor Tetley is involved here.
World Smile Day^® Los Angeles Celebration: Tomorrow, October 8, celebrity ambassadors Elizabeth Henstridge and Zachary Abel will be hosting a YLC cocktail event to talk about their recent visit to Smile Train programs in Mexico. The event will be held at The Standard in Hollywood.
Partner Hospital Events: Smile Train partner hospitals worldwide in Myanmar, Kenya, Nigeria Rwanda, Tanzania, Brazil and Bangledash will host World Smile Day^® celebrations for patients and staff.

About Smile Train
Smile Train is an international children's charity with a sustainable approach to a single, solvable problem: cleft lip and palate. Millions of children in developing countries with untreated clefts live in isolation, but more importantly, have difficulty eating, breathing and speaking. Cleft repair surgery is simple, and the transformation is immediate. Our sustainable model provides training, funding and resources to empower local doctors in 85+ developing countries to provide 100%-free cleft repair surgery and comprehensive cleft care in their own communities. To learn more about how Smile Train's sustainable approach means donations have both an immediate and long-term impact, please visit smiletrain.org.

About World Smile Day^®
World Smile Day^® was created by Harvey Ball who believed that everyone should devote one day each year to smiles and acts of compassion throughout the world. Ball, who created the smiley face logo in 1963, created World Smile Day^® to revitalize the original meaning of his logo: a symbol of generosity.

Press Contacts

Smile Train
Nijha Diggs, Director of Public Relations
646.751.3231
[email protected]

Edelman
Matthew Frappier, Vice President
212.277.3786
[email protected]

SOURCE Smile Train