London's BT Tower celebrating World Smile Day in support of cleft charity

In celebration ofWorld Smile Day®,Smile Train, the world’s largest cleft-focused charity, will be ‘Lighting up the World with Smiles’ by illuminating landmarks around the world, in pursuit of their second Guinness World Records™.

Last year, Smile Train made history by setting a Guinness World Records™ for the most number of smiles uploaded to a digital photo album, showcasing the power of smiles and the impact Smile Train has on the lives of children around the globe. This year’s initiative promises to build on that success by lighting iconic landmarks around the world in a vibrant display of solidarity and support for children with clefts, a facial difference that causes challenges with eating, breathing and hearing, among much else.

In Smile Train’s 25th anniversary year, the charity has supported two million life-changing cleft surgeries and trained more than 100,000 healthcare workers. This campaign will celebrate the millions of faces they have lit up with smiles and put a smile on the faces of millions more in the global light-up.

Alongside the iconic BT Tower in London, landmarks in the UK set to shine brightly in support of Smile Train include performing arts theatre The Town House Hamilton in Scotland, and five majestic castles across North Wales*. They will be joined by an array of global landmarks including the magnificent Gateway of India, the Rizal Monument in the Philippines, and numerous landmarks across the United States, including the famed Empire State Building in New York City.

Jason Shauness, UK Director at Smile Train UK says, “This World Smile Day® we’re reflecting on the millions of faces we have lit up with smiles over the last 25 years. We hope to create lots more smiles, whilst educating people about the impact that cleft can have on children – from eating to speaking and breathing, particularly in countries where lifesaving treatment isn’t accessible. A huge thank you to the BT Tower for lighting up for us today. Together, we can spread awareness of clefts and create a hopeful future for children born with a cleft around the world, ultimately changing the world, one smile at a time.”

Smile Train UK community ambassador Nishchala Chitradurga says, “I was born with a unilateral cleft lip, and know all too well about the difficulties people born with a cleft face – both emotionally and physically. The work that Smile Train carry out around the world is invaluable. I hope that this campaign can help inspire others to play their part in helping Smile Train to continue light up the faces of those born with a cleft with a smile for the next 25 years and beyond.”

A cleft is the most common facial difference globally, affecting around 1 in 700 babies. In the UK, cleft surgery is carried out within the first 12 months of a baby’s life by the NHS. However, hundreds of thousands of children living in low-resource settings worldwide do not have access to the lifesaving cleft treatment they desperately need.

Always falling on the first Friday of October, World Smile Day® is a holiday devoted to smiles and acts of kindness. First celebrated in 1999, World Smile Day® seeks to reclaim the original meaning and intent of the iconic smiley face image by encouraging people to act kindly and make others smile.

As supporters rally to take part in this global celebration, Smile Train encourages everyone to share their smiles and spread joy, highlighting the crucial work they are doing to support free cleft surgery and comprehensive cleft care around the world.

This #WorldSmileDay, Smile Train are lighting up over 60 landmarks from Manila to London to New York just like they have lit up faces with smiles for the past 25 years.

You can learn more about the locations here.

To learn more about Smile Train, please visit: smiletrain.org.uk