Recently in Operation Smile Category

In 2005, when we heard about PPA Charities' Family Portrait Month, we knew we wanted to contribute. But October is our busiest month of the year(and typically most lucrative), so we did not have time in our schedule to hold a special photo event or offer special sittings to raise funds. So we decided to donate a percentage of our gross sales for the month of October. This total was $3,500. It was amazing to know how much we could help children around the world just by sacrificing some of our profits during our biggest month.

In 2006, we really wanted to blow that 2005 number out of the water, so we decided to run a year-round promotion to benefit Operation Smile. We started to offer "Smile Cards," which are 5x7 folded blank notecards with the client's choice of image printed on the front. On the back, we print the Operation Smile, PPA Charities, and our studio logos. 

We sell these in packs of 10, and they cost the client just $15.00 for the pack. This is a great value compared to our regular press-printed card line for our customers, and since we print them in-house, we can print them whenever the orders come in. One hundred percent of the price of these cards goes to our charity fund, which is donated at the end of the year. Our clients love these cards, and especially love knowing that they donate $15 to Operation Smile every time they purchase them. We do have a limit of three packs per client, which serves to guarantee that they do not use them as birth announcements or holiday cards. At the end of 2006, our total donation was $8,500, a combination of revenue from the cards and our percentage donation from our October sales.

In 2007, we decided to do something a little different. In addition to the Smile Card year-round sales, we opted to sell gift certificates in lieu of the October percentage donation. (we were building a new studio at the time and needed all that profit we could get!).  In October, we pre-sold 2008 gift certificates for $240 (the price of one smile). Included in this certificate was an 8x10 portrait from the session. Given that our session fee is $300, this was a good value to our customers!  We did have success with this, as some of our clients bought these as gifts for their co-workers and we gained new clients in the process. Our total 2007 donation was $6000. We had similar success in 2008 doing the same program, raising $6,500.

We can't wait until the end of 2009, to see how many more smiles we can buy for such deserving children! So far, we have raised over $5,000 . . . so we are on target to bring our total donation through the years to upwards of $30,000.

You can download templates for Angie's vertical and horizontal Smile Cards here: 

For 23 years, Operation Smile has been reaching out to children throughout the world to restore smiles, hope and diginity.

One in 500 Children in the developing world is born with a facial deformity. When you support Operation Smith through PPA Charities, you help to bring smiles, hope and dignity to the lives of these children like LuLu, who was helped through an Operation Smile mission to China.

Learn about Cindy McCain's long association with Operation Smile through this video of on an Operation Smile mission to Vietnam.

PPA Charities hosts a "Celebration" event Saturday evening before PPA's Imaging USA (the national convention in January) officially begins. The celebration event will take place at Alice Coopers Town in Phoenix, just two blocks from Convention Center and features fun, fellowship, and food. The evening kicks off with a VIP Cocktail Hour from 8-9pm. VIP Cocktail Hour tickets are only $35 and include hors d'oeuvres and open bar. The doors open to all convention attendees at 9pm, and the fun continues with the live/silent auction, the check presentation to Operation Smile, and music and dancing.

Mark your calendar now to attend the PPA Charities' Celebration on January 10, 2009, in Phoenix.