Category: Press Releases

SIDDHI – an innovative art show for charity

New Delhi :Smile Foundation and Yellow Ochre have come up with an innovative art show titled Siddhi wherein two children will be paired with an artist to produce a painting. Ten such paintings will be exhibited and proceeds from the same will be entirely utilized to send children to school.

Siddhi aims to introduce young underprivileged children to the practice of fine art. Not only is art therapeutic, it can also be chosen as a career path. Siddhi literally means accomplishment/ happiness/ achievement. The aim is to help the children achieve this through a process, which will culminate in an exhibition in April 2015.

Mr. Vikram Singh Verma, COO, Smile Foundation says, “It is an interesting concept that resonates with art as a catalyst to bring social change. By involving the privileged section of the society proactively in the process of child development, we aim to bring some real and permanent change in the lives of the most deserving children.”

Yellow Ochre shall aim to make the process of making the artwork inspirational, educative and fun for the children. The process of having children work with the artists will be filmed/ documented for a short film to be produced later.

V. Anamika a Yellow Ochre artist feels that “Things have to be done at a higher level for them to make an impact on the grass-root level. I hope this initiative helps us make an impact. I am happy to be part of this initiative.”

Manu Singh also a Yellow Ochre artist who has recently showcased at the Kochi Biennale says, “Just like food, music and love, art makes us feel good. Art stimulates us. This has been a very inspirational activity for me; I was pleased to see how these children were enjoying painting the canvases with us, and how they talked with such enthusiasm about the artworks. I’m looking forward to getting some of this inspiration out onto the canvas.”

A catalogue of all the artwork, incorporating the process of making them and the inspiration behind them, will be produced. This will be distributed to clients before the exhibition. All the money raised from the sale of the paintings will go to Smile Foundation. The exhibition itself will be held in New Delhi over a period of five days. The private view/opening will be on the 18th of April at the Stainless Gallery in New Delhi.

Yellow Ochre is an art sales & rental platform that has been founded on the belief that art should be accessible to all and everyone should be able to derive pleasure from it. They aim to facilitate the navigation of the formidable world of art with ease, with the range of options they present; they make the process of searching and selecting artworks fun.

Smile Foundation is a national level development organisation benefitting over 300,000 underprivileged children, their families and the community directly through 158 welfare projects on subjects such as education, healthcare, livelihood, and women empowerment across 25 states of India. Adopting a life cycle approach of development, Smile Foundation focuses its interventions on children, their families and the community.

Smile Foundation believes in the spirit of partnership and actively engages and joins hands with community organizations, civic bodies, corporate, brands, educational and development institutions, as well as the government to strengthen its cause and ameliorate the situation of underprivileged children in India.

1,000 more children across India to receive free nutritional support

Bengaluru : The launch of the third phase of the Casa Herbalife programme has been announced by Smile Foundation, a national development organization that works for underprivileged children and their families in areas of education, healthcare, livelihood and women empowerment. The programme is supported by the Herbalife Family Foundation (HFF), a non-profit organisation dedicated to improving the lives of children by helping charitable organisations provide healthy nutrition to children in need. During the third phase unveiled today in Bengaluru, the HFF will extend grants to provide nutritional support to 1,000 children across India, through Smile Foundation’s ‘Mission Education’ programme.

The third phase beneficiaries are spread across Smile Foundation’s Mission Education centres, including in the North (New Delhi, Gurgaon in Haryana and Chandigarh), East (Kolkata in West Bengal), West (Baroda in Gujarat and Thane in Maharashtra) and South (Chennai in Tamil Nadu, Hyderabad in Andhra Pradesh and Bangalore in Karnataka).The first and second phases of the programme were launched in Mumbai & Chennai in 2011 and 2013, respectively, to cater to 2,000 children in these regions. Overall, the initiative is benefitting 3,000 children in three phases.

Speaking on the occasion, Vikram Singh Verma, Chief Operating Officer, Smile Foundation said, “We are happy to continue this relationship into the third phase and we believe that together we can deliver the right value. Smile Foundation believes that whether you are addressing healthcare, poverty, population control, unemployment or human rights, there’s no better place to start than in the corridors of education. More than 200,000 children have directly benefitted from the Mission Education programme since 2002.”

Ajay Khanna, Vice President and Country Head, Herbalife International India Pvt. Ltd. said, “Two key factors which play a pivotal role in the growth and development of a child are a healthy body and a healthy mind. The quality of life during childhood will be a defining factor in a person’s success as an adult. As a global nutrition company, we advocate the importance of nutrition for a healthy and active life; hence we have strengthened our association with Smile Foundation through this third phase of the programme. We are happy that 3,000 children will benefit from this partnership.”

Mission Education is Smile Foundation’s flagship programme which provides education, healthcare and nutrition support to underprivileged children.

Bangalore : July 01, 2016 : On the occasion of the 77 birth anniversary of the legendary music composer R D Burman, Smile Foundation in association with Fever FM and Alive India is coming up with a special initiative called “U Me & RD” – a musical evening to remember the legend & his unforgettable compositions on July 3, 2016 at B R Ambedkar Bhavan, to support the cause of education for underprivileged Children.

The gala evening will witness another legendary singer Padma shri “Usha Uthup” singing the foot taping numbers of R D Burman along with the celebrated musician Shri Kishor Sodha, who has given soul to many of R D Burman’s compositions. The famous & leading band AURKO will also perform on this special occasion.

Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Vikram Singh Verma, COO, Smile Foundation said, “Smile Foundation believes in civic driven change, under which we continuously strives to sensitize the privileged mass of the country so that they come forward, take on the social problems of the country as personal challenges and fight them back. On the occasion of the birth anniversary of the legendary musician Shri R D Burman, our aim is to raise awareness on this issue through the medium of entertainment. We are thankful to Fever FM and Alive India for their support in this initiative. ”

About Smile Foundation :

Smile Foundation is a national level development organization benefitting over 400,000 underprivileged children, their families and the community directly through 158 welfare projects on subjects such as education, healthcare, livelihood, and women empowerment across 26 states of India. Adopting a life cycle approach of development, Smile Foundation focuses its interventions on children, their families and the community.

Assam/Guwahati : August 29, 2016 : Ravaged by heavy rain followed by floods distressed the normal life and caused a havoc damage in the state of Assam. Floods have completely ruptured normal life in the state and affected close to 19 lakh people and claimed many lives.

Reacting to the pressing needs and tenacity of the situation in Assam, the disaster response team of Smile Foundation, a national level development organisation, actively started aiding the rescue and immediate relief efforts in Assam. The early relief effort initiated with distributing relief kits and necessary supplies, along with focus on providing essential health services.

In a post-flood situation, health becomes a critical issue and an outbreak of epidemics is a fatal possibility. The difficult terrain, devastated roads and lack of proper healthcare infrastructure have further worsen the situation. To address this crucial need, Smile Foundation is deploying health camps in the worst hit villages to address the immediate medical needs of the survivors. The camps will be providing basic health check-ups, medical diagnosis, pathological test facilities, and free of cost medicines to the affected families.

Further need assessment is being carried out to devise short term and long term plans for rehabilitation and revival of the affected children and families in identified flood affected areas.

Smile Foundation Disaster Response Programme:

Smile Foundation is a national level development organization benefitting over 400,000 underprivileged children, their families and the community directly through 158 welfare projects on subjects such as education, healthcare, livelihood, and women empowerment across 26 states of India. Adopting a life cycle approach of development, Smile Foundation focuses its interventions on children, their families and the community.

To know more about Smile Foundation, log onto: – www.smilefoundationindia.org

New Delhi : August 19, 2016 : In one of its kind initiative, Indian Institute of Photography in association with Smile Foundation and SIFFCY (Smile International Film Festival for Children and Youth) celebrated the International Photography Day on August 19, skilling underprivileged childrenwith the nuances of the art that is increasingly getting acceptance as a profession.

Students of IIP and the underprivileged children of NaiDisha, a Mission Education center of Smile Foundation, shared the same platform over a unique photography workshop arranged by Indian Institute of Photography. Students of IIP demonstrated the quintessential details of photography to the underprivileged children along with giving them a hands on experience on operating a camera and capturing moments. The objective behind this initiative is to promote photography in the different strata’s of the society and to encourage the younger generation towards photography.

Indian Institute of Photography has been associated with Smile Foundation’s initiative SIFFCY (Smile International Film Festival for Children and Youth) to promote meaningful cinemas in 2015. Continuing the association, IIP will mark the launch of second SIFFCY by organising photography workshops across India in all centres of Smile Foundation. The best of the photographs will be showcased during the second version of SIFFCY International Film Festival to be held in 5th-11th December 2016 at Sirifort Auditorium in New Delhi.

About Smile Foundation:

Smile Foundation is a national level development organization benefitting over 400,000 underprivileged children, their families and the community directly through 158 welfare projects on subjects such as education, healthcare, livelihood, and women empowerment across 26 states of India. Adopting a life cycle approach of development, Smile Foundation focuses its interventions on children, their families and the community.

To know more about Smile Foundation, log onto: – www.smilefoundationindia.org

Michelin starred Chef Vikas Khanna to spread awareness on responsible dinning

Mumbai : October 3, 2016 : Smile Foundation has join hands with Burrp, the online food-tech company, to celebrate Joy of Giving, for the entire month of October. Under this initiative, a campaign called #DINEWITHSMILE has been launched. Starting from 1st till 31st October, the campaign will raise awareness on responsible dinning. Michelin Starred and Goodwill Ambassador for NutritionforBetterLiteracy program, Chef Vikas Khanna, is the face for the campaign and he will work towards generating awareness and inspire more people to join this initiative.

The campaign will be running on online portal where restaurants can join the campaign and support minimum nutrition for 1 kid for a year. This will be a digital campaign that will bring more light to the cause and also create an opportunity for brands in the food space to make a difference in the simplest way.

Speaking on this occasion the Master Chef said “One in every three malnourished children in the world is from India. The consequences are long-term and it prevents children’s overall growth, learning ability, going to school and a chance to come out of the vicious cycle of poverty for yet another generation. Thereby it also prevents the country’s growth. The objective of this initiative is to raise awareness on malnutrition and its overall impact on children and to encourage more people to join this cause and support to bring the much needed change. Through the medium of this initiative, we will not only be able to provide nutrition to underprivileged children but also help them to get better health therefore better education and a brighter future. “

Mr. Vikram Singh Verma, COO, Smile Foundation said, “Dine with Smile is conceptualised in order to bring some real and permanent changes in the lives of the most deserving children across India. Restaurant owners, their clientele along with the sponsors have paved the way to Smile Foundation’s nutrition for better literacy campaign through this month long initiative. We are thankful to Chef Vikas Khanna and Burpp for their support to take this initiative to the next level. ”

About Smile Foundation:

Smile Foundation is a national level development organization benefitting over 400,000 underprivileged children, their families and the community directly through 158 welfare projects on subjects such as education, healthcare, livelihood, and women empowerment across 26 states of India. Adopting a life cycle approach of development, Smile Foundation focuses its interventions on children, their families and the community.

To know more about Smile Foundation, log onto: – www.smilefoundationindia.org

Virat Kohli to host the dinner and Chef Vikas Khanna will add Michelin star treatment for the invitees

New Delhi : May 2016 : Virat Kohli Foundation has joined hands with Smile Foundation, a national level development organization, to support the cause of empowerment of underprivileged Children and Youth. As a first step towards this endeavor, a one-of-its-kind charity dinner in Mumbai is going to be organised in June. Virat Kohli himself will host the charity dinner and it will bring together eminent cricketers, industry stalwarts, corporate honchos, Bollywood personalities and achievers from diverse fields. The evening will also have the element of auction of high-end luxury products, entertainment and a five course Michelin starred treatment dinner for 200 distinguished guests.

Speaking on this occasion Virat Kohli Said “Children and Youth are the next generation of students, leaders, entrepreneurs, and the future of the country and there is no better tool other than education to empower them. This initiative is not just about fulfilling their basic needs, but making them able to take care of their own needs – giving them an opportunity to learn, equipping them to face challenges and preparing them to be tomorrow’s leaders. I am glad to be associated with Smile Foundation and contribute towards this endeavor. ”

Today, more than half of India’s population is below the age of 25. In another five years, India is touted to become the country with the largest young population in the world. But nearly 8 million children in India are still out of school – on the streets, working in hazardous conditions, getting involved in illegal activities – far away from the innocence of childhood. The situation of our youth is no different. As per a latest Survey Report by the NSSO, the unemployment rate in India has increased substantially in the last two years with nearly 10.8 million unemployed young men and women. Thus, the soul behind this initiative is to raise awareness and support for the cause of education and skill training for the thousands of less privileged children and youth in India.

Virat Kohli, is one of the most loved, followed youth icons of the day. The place he has created for himself in Indian Cricket and the hearts of cricket lovers at such a young age remains unparalleled. His association with social work brings admiration not only from the cricket arena but from every strata of the society. Through this initiative he will be encouraging youth to reach for their aspirations and will also advocate, inspire and invite more corporate to join the social movement.

Michelin starred chef Vikas Khanna who is the global ambassador for Smile Foundation, advocates the importance of Nutrition for Education. According to Vikas Khanna “Proper nutrition is crucial to bring up our younger generation. Taking the message of importance of nutrition is the need of the hour, so that the future generation of the country doesn’t miss out on other crucial aspects of life. My association with Smile Foundation is to reinsure the fact the no child should miss out education because of the lack of nutrition”. Vikas Khanna has pledged to raise #milliondollar4nutrition and he will auction his premium culinary cookbook “Utsav – a culinary epic of Indian festivals” at the event to support this initiative.

“Celebrities are ambassadors of the society they are from, to the rest of the world. They have the power to influence on millions. People across ages and segments consider them as role models. I would like to thank the British Band “Vamps” and Vishal-Shekhar for their support and to add more strength to the cause of Smile Foundation”. Said Mr. Santanu Mishra, Executive Director and Trustee, Smile Foundation.

“Virat Kohli is one of the most loved youth icons of the day, embodying the hopes, aspirations and dreams of millions of young people across the country. We appreciate philanthropic values of Virat Kohli Foundation. To have him support the cause of empowerment for children and youth strengthens our resolve to reach out to thousands of those unreached young people who are still struggling to come out of the vicious cycle of poverty and help them write their own destinies with the power of education.” Said Mr. Santanu Mishra, Co-Founder and Executive Trustee, Smile Foundation.

Smile Foundation has been working intensively for the empowerment of children and youth through its education initiatives that provide them with quality education, skills training, proper nutrition, and relevant exposure and opportunities. With the two industry stalwarts Virat Kohli and Vikas Khanna joining this initiative, the movement will step in to the next phase of success.

About Smile Foundation:

Smile Foundation is a national level development organization benefitting over 400,000 underprivileged children, their families and the community directly through 158 welfare projects on subjects such as education, healthcare, livelihood, and women empowerment across 26 states of India. Adopting a life cycle approach of development, Smile Foundation focuses its interventions on children, their families and the community.

To know more about Smile Foundation, log onto: – www.smilefoundationindia.org

Mumbai : August 25, 2016 : Internationally acclaimed British band “The Vamps” along with the eminent music composer duo Vishal – Shekhar has come together to support the cause of underprivileged children by extending their support to “Nutrition for Education” campaign of Smile Foundation.

The occasion would give a platform to the child beneficiaries of Smile Foundation to share the same stage with the Vamps and Vishal Shekhar as the children are preparing to perform on some of the foot-tapping numbers of Vishal-Shekhar. The music-composer duo will also perform along with the kids. On this occasion, they will also serve food to the kids as a support to the campaign “Nutrition for Education” and to spread the message of “Importance of Education” for all.

Pledging their support towards the cause, the British Band Vamps said “India has produced & contributed notable personalities, scholars who left their mark in the global platform and continue to do so. Smile Foundation is doing a commendable job by providing education to these children and preparing them towards a bright future who in turn will continue the legacy of India to contribute to the global audience”.

The workThe music sensation composer duo Vishal-Shekhar echoed the same emotion “Education is the most important element of our upbringing as Education empowers us towards a better life and Nutrition for Education plays an important role as it is the essential for proper development of a sound mind and body. We are happy to be a part of this initiative & appreciate Smile Foundation for their effort in eradicating illiteracy. ”

“Celebrities are ambassadors of the society they are from, to the rest of the world. They have the power to influence on millions. People across ages and segments consider them as role models. I would like to thank the British Band “Vamps” and Vishal-Shekhar for their support and to add more strength to the cause of Smile Foundation”. Said Mr. Santanu Mishra, Executive Director and Trustee, Smile Foundation.

About Smile Foundation:

Smile Foundation is a national level development organization benefitting over 400,000 underprivileged children, their families and the community directly through 158 welfare projects on subjects such as education, healthcare, livelihood, and women empowerment across 26 states of India. Adopting a life cycle approach of development, Smile Foundation focuses its interventions on children, their families and the community.

Equips these role models with real life skills, hosts one of its kind 2-day residential learning fest

New Delhi : June 30, 2016 : In an effort to build exemplary role models where they are needed the most, Smile Foundation a national level development organization has selected 50 bright, scholar girls from marginalized and poor communities from the slums of Delhi to equip them to face challenges of the modern times.

Held under Smile Foundation’s Swabhiman programme, the capacity building programme imparted practical skills and information to these young scholars, enabling them to explore their potentials and established a positive self image and develop better career perspective. The event took place on 27th and 28th June, 2016 at Viswa Yuvak Kendra, Chankyapuri, New Delhi.

The workshop was conducted under the guidance of subject experts, trainers. It gave them a platform to meet the real life role models from various fields- women entrepreneur, teacher, nurse, fire brigade official, journalist, police woman officer etc.

The program aimed at –
a) Encouraging young girls to share the issues which affect their lives and enable them to understand their potentials and make relevant choices for themselves
b) Providing them a strong Leadership orientation so as to enable young girls to put their best abilities for achieving their life goals as per their interests and aptitude
c) Providing them access to information and opportunities available.

The workshops during this camp empowered these young girls through various activities such as Yoga, Self exploration session, abhivyakti: effective communication through Media and theatre workshop, career counseling session, planning a common future and meeting the real life heroes.

Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Santanu Mishra, Co-founder & Executive Trustee, Smile Foundation said “In India, the girl child are usually deprived of their basic rights and education. Through this workshop we want to empower and inspire the younger girls to develop a road map for the future and make them self-aware, confident, take full charge of their own development and become a role model for thousand others.”

Smile Foundation, through its Scholarship programme has initiated efforts for the attitudinal shift of marginalized communities towards the girls’ education. The support is for school and college level girls in Delhi only. Most of the scholars strongly agree that due to Smile’s support they are motivated to achieve desirable education. Their families are also encouraged to continue the education of girl children further. They appreciate changes in the scholars in terms of their confidence, personality and information level.

About Smile Foundation:

Smile Foundation is a national level development organization benefitting over 400,000 underprivileged children, their families and the community directly through 158 welfare projects on subjects such as education, healthcare, livelihood, and women empowerment across 26 states of India. Adopting a life cycle approach of development, Smile Foundation focuses its interventions on children, their families and the community.

o commemorate the war heroes and take the legacy of valour to the GenNext

New Delhi : September 26, 2016 : In a fast changing world where histories get easily forgotten, Smile Foundation and ‘India Remembers’ have joined forces to connect our young generation with our armed forces’ glorious traditions of valour and legacy of supreme sacrifices.

To commemorate India’s contribution to the Great War and to honour the veterans of 1965 Indo-Pak War, Smile Foundation as part of the India Remembers project has organized a Commemorative event at the CWGC Delhi War Cemetery on 26th September.

The project will provide a learning opportunity to the children to discover, explore and remember the valour and sacrifice of the personnel of the Indian Armed Forces who lost their lives in the service of the nation since 1914 to till date.

Three significant events fall at the end of September – 23rd September marks the capture of Haifa by the Jodpur and Mysore Lancers during WW1. The day is celebrated as Victory Day. The same date also marks the end of the 1965 Indo-Pak War. 26th September marks the landing of the first Indian troops on European soil during WW1.

As a part of this project children of Smile Foundation have met the war veterans, decedents from the village of Bhondsi, Haryana. From this small village large number of people have laid their lives serving in the defence forces since World War I till now. Adopted as India’s symbol of remembrance, children presented marigold to the war heroes and also gift their commemorative creatives like artworks, letters written for soldiers and perform songs on this occasion. The war veterans and the decedents of the fallen soldiers have shared their experience with the children to inspire, encourage the younger generation.

The whole project is conceived and initiated by the United Service Institution of India (USI) in partnership with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), Flags of Honour Foundation (FOH) and the Big Ideas Company.

About Smile Foundation:

Smile Foundation is a national level development organisation reaching out to more than 400,000 underprivileged children, youth and women directly every year through more than 200 welfare projects on subjects such as education, healthcare, youth employability, and women empowerment across 25 states of India. Adopting a life cycle approach of development, Smile Foundation focuses its interventions on children, their families and the community.

About USI :

The United Service Institution of India (USI) was founded in 1870 for the furtherance of interest and knowledge in the art, science and literature of National Security in general and of the Defence Services in particular. It is the oldest Institution of its kind in Asia. The Centre for Armed Forces Historical Research (CAFHR) was established in December 2000 under the aegis of the USI after due Consultation with the three Service Headquarters.