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In
participation of World Smile Day, Smile Train stationed
photo booths in Times Square where onlookers and contributors
can snap photos of themselves from 11:00am – 1:00pm. The booths
had the capability to instantly print photos and upload onto
social media pages. In addition, Smile Trainis joined forces
with students from New York City schools to attend the event.
The students wore World Smile Day t-shirts in support of Smile
Train’s cause and will take part in events throughout the day
that support this initiative.
World Smile Day also
marks the culmination of Smile Train’s “All It Takes Is A Smile”
Campaign. The contest, which began on September 17th,
encourages participants to
upload their photos
of a smile to Instagram, Twitter or Tumblr using the hashtag #SmileTrainWSD
in the photo caption. Christie Brinkley will handpick a few of
her favorite photos submitted on October 5th.
Sponsor, Famous
Famiglia donated $10.00 for each photo uploaded onto
a social media site during the campaign, with all proceeds
benefiting Smile Train. The Famous Famiglia Pizzeria eatery in
Times Square also served free pizza
from 11:00am – 1:00pm on World Smile Day and will hold one photo
booth inside.
“The Kolaj and DeBartolo families, along with the
entire Famous Famiglia organization, were honored to have the
opportunity to support such a wonderful cause, Smile Train. It
is an important part of our personal and corporate culture to
give back to the communities which we serve. And, we cannot
think of a greater joy than putting a smile on a child’s face,”
states Paul Kolaj,
co-founder and CEO of Famous Famiglia.
"We are honored to have Christie Brinkley join us
in celebrating World Smile Day in New York City and to bring
awareness to this cause," says Priscilla Ma, Executive Director
of Smile Train." “We are also grateful to Famous Famiglia
Pizzeria for their generous support of our All It Takes Is A
Smile Campaign. Smile Train continues to provide life-changing,
free cleft treatment programs for children born with cleft in
more than 80 countries around the world - many of them the
world's poorest. Through the support of sponsors and donations,
we're giving very poor children the opportunity to live full and
productive lives."
Smile Train was
formed to give children around the world the ability to smile,
and the opportunity for a new and productive life. Every day,
Smile Train provides more than 320 surgeries for poor children
around the world. These surgeries not only provide the precious
gift of a smile, but also, a second chance at life. World Smile
Day inspires individuals to think about how fortunate they are
to have the ability to smile and how important it is to provide
that opportunity to those less fortunate. Smile Train was
founded in 1999, and has become the world's largest cleft
charity with over 2,300 partner surgeons operating in over 1,100
partner hospitals and has helped children in over 80 countries.
Every year more than 170,000 children are born with cleft lips
and palates in the developing world. Each one can be helped with
corrective surgery that costs as little as $250.
For additional information on the
organization and how to get involved, please visit
www.smiletrain.org.
About Smile Train
Our mission is to provide a child born with a
cleft the same opportunities in life as a child born without a
cleft. We provide free cleft surgery and comprehensive care to
hundreds of thousands of poor children in developing countries
and train doctors and medical professionals in over 80
countries.
Unlike many
charities that do many different things, Smile Train's mission
is focused on solving a single problem: cleft lip and palate.
Clefts are a
major problem in developing countries where more than a million
children are suffering with unrepaired clefts. Most cannot eat
or speak properly. Aren't allowed to attend school or hold a
job. And face very difficult lives filled with shame and
isolation, pain and heartache. Their clefts usually go untreated
because they are poor - too poor to pay for a simple surgery
that has been around for decades.
We want our
mission to be yours.
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.
About Christie Brinkley
Christie Brinkley received critical-acclaim in
2010 when she made her Broadway stage debut as merry murderess
Roxie Hart in the Tony Award-winning hit musical “Chicago.” She
continued her stage success reprising the role in London's West
End. Back by popular demand, Christie reprised the role this
spring on Broadway and continues to perform with the National
Touring Company of "Chicago." This summer, Christie Brinkley
received the prestigious 2012 Broadway Beacon Award. This award
represents a not-for-profit Children's Theatre Company that
brings the joys and advantages of musical theatre to NYC's
under-served public school students. She recently honed her
comedy chops in the new hit comedy “Celebrity Autobiography”
where super star memoirs are acted out live on stage. In June,
"SOFO Goes SOHO" honored Christie Brinkley for her contributions
as a concerned environmentalist, especially for her work on the
East End of Long Island, which is her home, at The South Fork
Natural History Museum.
Christie Brinkley has appeared on more than 500
magazine covers worldwide. But more than that, she also excels
as an artist, writer, photographer, designer, actress,
philanthropist environmentalist and political activist.
Combining her modeling experience with her artistic talents and
diverse interests, Christie's career over the years has been
interesting and dynamic and has been photographed in six
continents and more than 30 countries. A Ford model for over
thirty years, Christie was discovered by a photographer while
studying art in Paris and mastering the French language at the
age of eighteen. Since then, she has become the first model to
ever appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated for three
consecutive years, with a fourth Special Issue version and
appeared in the publication's annual swimsuit issues and
television specials for years to follow. In 1976, Christie
landed the coveted CoverGirl contract, which launched the start
of a 25-year partnership that marks the longest-running
cosmetics contract of any model in history. The Total Gym has
become the best-selling total body fitness equipment in the
world. This year, Christie Brinkley showed off some serious
dance moves for active wear company Danskin's "Move for Change"
fall 2011 campaign. Known worldwide for her commitment to
health and fitness. Christie wrote and illustrated a health and
beauty book, "Christie Brinkley's Outdoor Beauty and Fitness
Guide" which topped The New York Times bestseller list. On the
big screen, she made her acting debut in 1983 opposite Chevy
Chase as "the girl in the red Ferrari" in the hit feature film
National Lampoon's Vacation and its 1997 sequel, Vegas Vacation.
She also famously appeared in Billy Joel's classic music videos
"Uptown Girl," "Keeping the Faith" and "All About Soul," as well
as painted the Cover of his album "River of Dreams" Mick Jones'
music video "Just Wanna Hold.” Christie was recently featured in
the Adam Sandler film, "Jack and Jill."
Christie is the recipient of many humanitarian
awards including The USO Merit Award for her efforts to
entertain our troops from Bosnia to Kosovo. She has also
received many honors for her work protecting our health and the
environment. She sits on the Board of Directors of The Global
Security Institute and Radiation and Public Health Project,
whose aim is to promote security thru the elimination of nuclear
weapons and power plants. She has spoken on their behalf at both
the United Nations and the Senate. She wants all kids to get an
education and to that end, has created a Scholarship Fund at
Ross School in East Hampton, NY. Christie's dedication to
charity work includes the American Heart Association, South
Hampton Hospital and Max Cure Foundation. Christie was recently
awarded the "Positively Beautiful Award" for her work with Smile
Train.
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