Smile Train Announces Upcoming World Smile Day Celebration

New York, NY — Here at Smile Train we believe in changing the world one smile at a time, and this World Smile Day we plan on showing how much of an impact a smile can have.

The 170,000+ children who are born with clefts in developing countries each year face lives of isolation, pain and suffering, simply because their parents are too poor to afford cleft surgery. Smile Train was formed to give children around the world the ability to smile, and the opportunity for a new and productive life. Thanks to our incredible supporters and our 1,100+ local partner hospitals, Smile Train has provided over 790,000 free cleft surgeries since 1999.

With our "All It Takes Is A Smile" campaign, users can upload their photos of a smile to Instagram, Twitter or Tumblr using the hashtag #SmileTrainWSD in the photo caption, between September 12 and October 5.

In addition to the "All It Takes Is A Smile" campaign, we will have four photo booths in Times Square on World Smile Day (October 5th). The booths will have the capability to instantly print photos and upload them to social media pages. Smile Train is also joining forces with New York City schools to have students attend the World Smile Day event in Times Square. The students will wear World Smile Day t-shirts in support of Smile Train's cause and will participate in a lot of fun events throughout the day to show support for children who are in need of free cleft surgery.

"We are honored to be celebrating World Smile Day in New York City and to bring awareness to this cause," says Priscilla Ma, Executive Director of Smile Train. "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."