Princeton Photographer hosts Celebration of Smiles fundraiser for Operation Smile

On April 5, Elizabeth Williams of Princeton, NJ photography studio Girl +  Camera at 217 Nassau Street, Princeton will join together with other members of the Professional Photographers of America host “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.
These PPA photographers will provide the gift of an individual portrait session and a desk-size portrait in exchange for a $25 donation to PPA Charities. This donation represents one tenth of $240, the amount needed to help fund a single surgery. According to 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.”