PPA Charities

PPA Charities President David Grupa has announced the results of the organization’s annual Celebration of Smiles fundraiser in support of its charitable partner, Operation Smile. Held during April, a total of 79 members raised $48,166 to benefit Operation Smile.

“These funds will go a long way toward meeting our 2012 goal of raising $100,000 for this wonderful organization,” Grupa said. “Because Operation Smile’s medical professionals and support staff volunteer their services, it costs only $240 to provide a simple cleft lip surgery to a child in desperate need. Therefore the funds raised by PPA members so far in 2013 mean that over 200 smiles will be saved.”

Celebration of Smiles Day provides consumers with the opportunity to receive a mini-session and a 5x7 professional portrait in exchange for a donation to Operation Smile of only $24; therefore, for every 10 sessions photographed by a participating studio, another smile can be saved by the volunteer staff of Operation Smile. View List of Top Tier Donors and Operation Smile Studios >>

In 2014 PPA Charities will advertise Saturday, April 5 as the official Celebration of Smiles date, but studios can hold their events on any other date or dates in April for their convenience.

Top donors for the 2013 campaign are Ryan & Erica Manthey, Pure 7 Studios, Miramar Beach, FL, who contributed $6,131. Last year Pure 7 Studios also was the campaign’s top performer with a donation of $3,813. In 2013 the Mantheys hosted their first promotion at their home studio. This year they moved the event to popular Harbor Walk Village in busy Destin, and they maximized their exposure by partnering with local retailers and professionals from the area.

In future website posts, Erica will explain the strategies that made Pure 7's Celebration of Smiles such a success, and other 2013 participants will illustrate and explain how they made the most of their charitable marketing event. So check back often for great ideas that you can put to work in your studio!

IN THE MEANTIME, CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW TO GET A BEHIND-THE-SCENES LOOK AT PURE 7 STUDIO'S 2013 CELEBRATION OF SMILES DAY!

During this year’s April 28-May 13 Texas School session, generous students and instructors chose to support PPA Charities by challenging each other to give as much as they could to support the philanthropic arm of PPA, whose partner is Operation Smile, the international medical charity that repairs cleft lips and cleft palettes of needy children around the world. Their combined efforts, netted PPACH a total of $20,930, bringing the total of donations made by Texas School students, instructors and trustees, over a five-year period, to $109,000! Read Article >>