Catriona Gray Receives 2024 Global Goodwill Ambassador Impact Award
The only thing more dazzling than her smile is her flair for giving them to others
Smile Train recently honored Catriona Gray with our 2024 Global Goodwill Ambassador Impact Award at a ceremony in Manila to recognize her five years of selfless service to children with clefts.
Catriona was first exposed to our work while wearing her Miss Universe crown. She was hooked from the first child she saw smiling after surgery.
Though her Miss Universe reign has since ended, her dedication to using her global platform to make the world smile is still going strong.
When you have 13+ million followers on Instagram, attention follows you wherever you go. Since becoming an Ambassador, she has generously shared her spotlight with local Smile Train partners and patients. Whether in Colombia, Kenya, Indonesia, Brazil, Vietnam, Mexico, or at home in the Philippines, she always makes time to hug and play with our patients, get to know their families, and do whatever she can to create memories that everyone in the room will cherish forever.
And when local media shows up, she takes it as an opportunity to explain our sustainable model and encourage any cleft-affected person or family who might be watching to visit their nearest Smile Train partner hospital for free treatment.
For all these reasons and more, it was Smile Train’s distinct pleasure and honor to present this award to an extraordinary woman whose selflessness, empathy, kindness, and passion for smiles have touched thousands of lives.
"I was really touched" to receive this award, Catriona said. "It's really wonderful to witness their work and to use my platform to spread awareness because, for Smile Train, awareness is one of the bigger things that stops people from seeking care."
“Thank you, Catriona, for raising your voice so loudly and eloquently on behalf of those so often denied one,” said Troy Reinhart, Smile Train’s Senior Vice President of Community and Ambassador Development. “On behalf of everyone at Smile Train and our global cleft community, we look forward to many more years of spreading smiles around the world together with you.”
