Smile Train Launches the Free Oscar®-Winning Movie Giveaway, the First Time an Academy Award® Winning Film Has Been Given Away for Free
Over Ten Million Free DVDs Will Raise Both Awareness and Money to Combat the Overlooked Problem of Clefts in Developing Countries
New York, NY — Smile Train, the world's largest cleft charity which has been hailed by the New York Times as one of the most productive charities in America, is launching a remarkable campaign: on September 9, the organization will begin giving away its 2009 Academy Award® winning film, Smile Pinki, at no cost, en masse, to raise awareness of the plight of the children that it helps worldwide.
Like the surgeries that it provides every year to 120,000+ poor children in 76 of the world's poorest countries, the DVD will be completely free to any individual who requests it. The organization will begin accepting orders for the film via its website, www.smiletrain.org, or through the toll-free number 877-213-4160 beginning on September 9. The interactive giveaway will kick off with advertisements appearing in hundreds of newspapers nationwide, directing individuals to call or go to the website to receive the free DVD in the mail.
"Every Oscar® changes a career, our Oscar® can change the lives of millions of children," said Co-Founder and President Brian Mullaney. "Clefts are the number one birth defect in developing countries and yet awareness of this problem is very low. Once people watch our movie, and see how this horrible problem can be completely fixed in as little as 45 minutes and for as little as $250, we're confident they'll get on board The Smile Train and help us eradicate clefts."
Trying to turn Oscar® gold into millions of life-changing surgeries for desperate children, Mullaney predicts that the free movie giveaway will generate tens of millions of dollars in donations.
The film created a whirlwind of publicity and goodwill for the organization when it won the Oscar® in February. The organization received hundreds of thousands of donations related to the film in the two months directly following the win, and thousands of articles were written about the organization worldwide, raising profound awareness for children with clefts. Smile Train is hoping that once again, clefts will come to the forefront through this huge campaign.
Anyone who watches the film will fall in love with Pinki, a desperately poor little girl in rural India whose life is magically transformed when she receives free surgery to correct her cleft lip. Like many children with cleft, Pinki was not allowed to attend school and ostracized because of her deformity.
But the brief 45 minute surgery she received thanks to Smile Train completely transformed her, giving her not just a new smile, but a second chance at life. The film sheds light on the global problem of cleft lip and cleft palate. According to Smile Train, more than 4.7 million children in developing countries suffer with unrepaired clefts.
ABOUT SMILE TRAIN
Smile Train is the world's leading cleft charity with thousands of partners and programs in 76 of the world's poorest countries. Our mission is to help the more than 4.7 million children in developing countries who are suffering with unrepaired clefts. We provide free cleft surgery to children from poor families that give children not just a new smile, but a new life. Now in its tenth year, Smile Train has helped hundreds of thousands of children.
Media Contact:
Alexis Thomas
Smile Train Public Relations Manager
(212) 689-9199 ext. 253
email: athomas@smiletrain.org
Academy Awards® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks and service marks of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
