Smile Train launches the "I Create Smiles" Campaign on World Smile Day® 2018

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Oct 05, 2018, 08:00 ET

NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today people all over the world celebrate World Smile Day® (WSD), a day devoted to smiles and acts of kindness. In honor of this year's World Smile Day®, Smile Train, the world's largest cleft organization, launched the "I Create Smiles" campaign to celebrate the impact that Smile Train's supporters and partners have made on the lives of more than one million children with clefts around the globe.

Smile Train will launch the campaign and kick-off World Smile Day® celebrations in New York City with a community event in Herald Square (104 W 35th Street) from 12pm – 6pm featuring an interactive chalk board exhibit, "What Makes You Smile" and Smile Train's 360° virtual reality experience featuring two of the organization's cleft patients from India and their journey to their new forever smiles.

Smile Train invites everyone around the world to show their support by making a gift online to support the organization's cleft programs globally. By doing so, supporters will unlock a special "I Create Smiles" sticker for use on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.

"This year's celebration is truly global as Smile Train has helped more than one million children and counting," said Smile Train's President and CEO Susannah Schaefer. "The goal this World Smile Day® is to raise funds that will help create many more smiles and provide much needed treatment for children with clefts around the world."

Check out all of the ways Smile Train is celebrating World Smile Day® this year:

The Americas: Oct. 1-5, Smile Train will hold their first all-Americas Cleft Week to raise awareness for children with clefts. Participating countries will include Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.
Africa: Smile Train Africa hosted a cleft week in Uganda at CoRSU Hospital. Also, from Oct. 21-23, Smile Train Africa will be celebrating their 100,000^th cleft surgery milestone with a three-day celebration in Kenya.
Smile Train will also host other celebratory events in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Germany, the UK and the U.S. at Wheatley Plaza for Kids' Smile Day.
Young Leadership Circle (YLC): Hosted fundraising events in cities across the U.S., including Los Angles (Sept. 8), New York (Sept. 22), New Orleans (Oct. 5), Chicago (Oct. 5) and San Francisco (mid-October).
Corporate Partners: GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) – In the first year of a five-year partnership with Smile Train, GSK Consumer Healthcare will be celebrating World Smile Day® with a series of launch events across businesses in the Middle East and Africa, as well as holding volunteering and fundraising activities across the business worldwide.

In addition to GSK, many other Smile Train corporate partners will be celebrating World Smile Day® including: Good Day Chocolate, Labrada Nutrition, Candid Co., Best Orthodontics Seminar & Sessions (BOSS), Beverly Hills MD and Lookalu.

To learn more about how Smile Train is celebrating World Smile Day®, please visit smiletrain.org/wsd

About Smile Train
Smile Train empowers local medical professionals with training, funding, and resources to provide free cleft surgery and comprehensive cleft care to children globally. We advance a sustainable solution and scalable global health model for cleft treatment, drastically improving children's lives, including their ability to eat, breathe, speak, and ultimately thrive. 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.

SOURCE Smile Train