LOCAL PHOTOGRAPHER
SUPPORTS “CELEBRATION OF SMILES DAY” PROMOTION TO BENEFIT OPERATION SMILE
On April 6 local
photographer (Ricardo A. Dominguez Photography) will join with PPA Charities
(the philanthropic arm of Professional Photographers of America) to promote “Celebration
of Smiles Day.” This national fundraising effort will benefit Operation Smile,
which treats children around the world who suffer with cleft lips, cleft
palates and other facial deformities.
On that day,
participating photographers will offer the gift of an individual portrait
session and a desk-size portrait in exchange for a $24 donation to Operation
Smile. This donation represents one tenth of $240, the amount needed to help
fund a single surgery. According to Lexington, Kentucky photographer Tim Walden,
President of Professional Photographers of America (PPA), “Celebration of
Smiles Day” is the perfect opportunity to have your portrait made or that of a
loved one, because in doing so you are making it possible to truly change the lives
of children who would otherwise face a lifetime of pain and rejection.”
Founded in 1982,
Operation Smile is a worldwide children’s medical charity dedicated to helping
children and young adults born with facial deformities. In as little as 45
minutes, one cleft lip surgery can change a child’s life forever. Every three
minutes a child somewhere in the world is born with a facial deformity. One in
ten will not survive to see their first birthday. Those who do survive often
live in isolation and pain. Each year, more than 100,000 children are born with
a facial deformity in Operation Smile’s 26 partner countries. Tens of thousands
remain untreated.
“Recording smiles is what
photographers do,” says Richmond, Virginia, photographer Mary Fisk-Taylor, who
serves as president of the PPA Charities Board of Trustees, and who was
instrumental in developing the Celebration of Smiles promotion. “It’s hard to
imagine a more appropriate charity for our members to support. And when parents
participate in this event, it’s a wonderful way to teach children the value of
reaching out to others. Even small children can understand the importance of
Operation Smile’s work, and they are eager to help these needy children.”
To view a list of local
studios participating in the Celebration of Smiles Day promotion, visit www.CelebrationOfSmiles.com.
For further information
contact: Bert Behnke at (708) 267-0657.
PPA Charities
LICENSE NOTICE:
The promotional resources presented on this disc are licensed and
available only to PPA members who have registered and paid to be part of the
2013 PPA Charities Celebration of Smiles promotion.
