“We are excited to be able to contribute to this noble cause and to be of assistance to children with cleft. During these uncertain times, they continue to need special care and assistance. We are grateful that Smile Train has chosen to partner with us and provide us this opportunity to help out and provide cards that bring a message of hope.” ~Sharon G. Fong, Chief Commercial Officer of AF Payments Inc.
Smile Train launches special edition beep™ cards featuring Celebrity Smile Makers |
Smile Train Philippines, AF Payments Inc. partner to champion kids with a cleft through limited edition Smile Train beep™ cards featuring ambassadors. To sustain its goal to provide children with cleft with the urgent support and care they need, special edition (Marian Rivera, Catriona Gray, Megan Young) Smile Train beep™ cards will be introduced and made available at various MRT, LRT, and bus stations in NCR. The joint venture between Ayala Group and First Pacific Group behind the contactless smart card, beep™.
“Naging part kami ni Dingdong [Dantes] ng 30,000th cleft surgery celebration sa San Fernandino Hospital in 2014, at doon ako unang naging saksi sa life-changing work ng Smile Train. Inspired ako by their story so ngayon I make sure to help as much as I can and spread awareness para mas maraming tao pa ang mabigyan ng libreng operasyon at other services for children with cleft.” [Dingdong [Dantes] and I were part of the 30,000th cleft surgery celebration at San Fernandino Hospital’s in 2014, and there, I was able to witness Smile Train’s life-changing work. I was inspired by them and moved to do my part in raising awareness for Smile Train to reach more children with cleft and provide them with free operations and services.”] ~Marian Rivera-Dantes, Celebrity Goodwill Ambassador, Actress, and Model
The August launch of the first in the series of special edition Smile
Train beep™ cards coincide with the birthday month of Marian Rivera-Dantes.
Rivera-Dantes has been an avid supporter of the cause and has been known to
mobilize her clout to further push for advocacies she espouses. The actress
previously celebrated her birthday by coming up with her own fundraising
efforts and donating half a million pesos to Smile Train Philippines gained
through sales of limited edition shirts in partnership with one of the Filipino
brands she endorses.
Other celebrities featured on the special edition Smile Train beep™
cards include Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray and Miss World Philippines 2013
Megan Young. Catriona and Megan have continued to support Smile Train
Philippines as they raise awareness for the charity’s efforts in empowering
local medical professionals to provide free cleft surgery and comprehensive
cleft care. A lot must be done for the 540 babies around the world born every
day with a cleft, a serious health condition with potentially life-threatening
complications such as difficulty in eating, breathing, hearing, and speaking.
With thousands of Filipinos using them for everyday needs, especially
for transportation, the charity sees this as an effective way to convey the
message that help is at hand for those children in need of cleft lip and palate
surgery or care. Smile Train hopes that whenever Filipino commuters encounter a
child who needs help, they can simply refer to their beep™ cards to get the
contact details of Smile Train.
More
than 4,000 children are born with a cleft lip or palate annually in the
Philippines, all of whom can greatly benefit from surgery and comprehensive
cleft lip and palate care. Through its sustainable model, Smile Train has
supported more than 1.5 million cleft palate surgeries in the Philippines since
1999. With the support of partners such as AFPI, Smile Train is confident that
it can bring a smile to the lives of more Filipino children in the years to
come.
For
more information about Smile Train Philippines’ local efforts and to refer a
patient in need, visit smiletrain.ph/get-help, follow Smile Train Philippines on Twitter and
Instagram, and like them on Facebook.
To learn more about how Smile Train's sustainable approach means donations have both an immediate and long-term impact, please visit smiletrain.ph. For more information about Smile Train’s work in the Philippines, please contact philippines@smiletrain.org.About Smile Train
Smile Train empowers local medical professionals with training, funding, and resources to provide free cleft surgery and comprehensive cleft care to children globally. We advance a sustainable solution and scalable global health model for cleft treatment, drastically improving children’s lives, including their ability to eat, breathe, speak, and ultimately thrive.
Smile Train empowers local medical professionals with training, funding, and resources to provide free cleft surgery and comprehensive cleft care to children globally. We advance a sustainable solution and scalable global health model for cleft treatment, drastically improving children’s lives, including their ability to eat, breathe, speak, and ultimately thrive.
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