Category: Press Releases

Smile Foundation brings these change agents together to equip them with real skills, shape their grand visions

 

New Delhi, June 29, 2017 :They are bright young girls bringing about a silent revolution in the slums of Delhi. They are the role models who are inspiring the women of tomorrow. Smile Foundation, a national level development organization has selected 110 bright, scholar girls from marginalized and poor communities to build exemplary role models.

As part of its efforts to equip them to face the challenges and complexities of modern times, Smile Foundation, under its Swabhiman programme, imparts 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, Learning Fest, took place on 28th and 29th June, 2017 at Viswa Yuvak Kendra, Chankyapuri, New Delhi.

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

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.

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.

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 200 live 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.

Media Contact: Ms. Sayani Bhattacharya | 9654428509| sayani@smilefoundationindia.org

Campaign Ambassador Michelin Star Chef Vikas Khanna, popular actresses Shriya Saran and Meenakshi Dixit pledge support to the cause

 

Chennai, April 18, 2017: Quaker India, in association with Smile Foundation, brought its Quaker Feed A Child programme to Chennai – an initiative that aims to further the cause of nutrition support among children by providing underprivileged children with a nutritious meal. Acclaimed Chef and PepsiCo’s Nutrition Ambassador Vikas Khanna along with noted actresses Shriya Saran and Meenakshi Dixit shared a meal with children to mark the occasion.

As campaign ambassador of the Quaker Feed a Child programme, Chef Vikas Khanna also invited Shriya Saran and Meenakshi Dixit to pledge their support to the cause. They interacted with children from Smile Foundation over a nutritious meal including Idlis, Payasam etc. made with Oats.

Speaking about the initiative, Deepika Warrier, Vice President – Nutrition Category, PepsiCo India, said,“According to recent reports, more than 3,000 children die every day in India from hunger and poor diet related illness. Quaker Feed a Child is a social initiative based on a powerful thought that urges us all to make every festival more meaningful by simply pledging a fistful of nutrition to feed a child. As the program rolls out in Tamil Nadu and with the start of the Tamil New Year, we hope that people will make their new year more meaningful by taking a pledge to feed a child.”

On World Food Day last year, the Quaker Feed a Child initiative committed to serve 200,000 meals to underprivileged children in India, through Smile Foundation. As part of this commitment, hundreds of children at Smile Foundation centres in Tamil Nadu will be receiving nutritious meals.

Talking about the initiative, Chef Vikas Khanna, PepsiCo’s Nutrition Ambassador said, “The problem of hunger and malnutrition in India cannot be solved in a day, and certainly cannot be solved by one person or entity. If each of us makes a small effort to help even one child, I believe we can take a big leap towards ensuring no child sleeps hungry. That’s the core of Quaker Feed a Child and I am happy to be a part of it.”

Highlighting the role nutrition can play in a child’s and subsequently nation’s development, Sanjeev Dham, COO, Smile Foundation, said, “While malnourishment and hunger are critical issues themselves, they also negatively impact other significant factors in the development of our children and country like literacy, education, healthcare and livelihood. We would like to thank PepsiCo India for partnering with us in helping make India hunger free and provide full and nutritious meals to children. Hope the people of Tamil Nadu will join our efforts!”

Speaking about her presence at the event, noted actress Shriya Saran said, “I pledge my support to the Quaker Feed a Child initiative and applaud Quaker India and Smile Foundation for their efforts to bring smiles to the faces of hundreds of children in Tamil Nadu. It is heart-warming to see a smile on a child’s face, and it was touching to share a meal with children who will be benefitting from the programme.”

About her participation in the initiative, popular actress Meenakshi Dixit said, “It feels great to be a part of a commendable effort like this, and I appreciate Quaker India and Smile Foundation for taking this step. The promise of food for a hungry child has to be one of the most hopeful and positive pledges ever made. Sharing this yummy, nutritious food with the kids makes this the most satisfying meal for me.”

To spread awareness about the vision of the Quaker Feed a Child programme, Quaker India launched a film ‘OruuruthimozhiBabukaagha’ on the occasion of Tamil New Year, urging viewers to take the Quaker Feed a Child pledge and join the movement.

Last year, Quaker India has already served over 200,000 meals to children in India through Smile Foundation. The Quaker Feed a Child programme further pledged 200,000 meals in October 2016 on World Food Day.

About Quaker:

Quaker Oats was launched in India in 2006. The brand Quaker is more than 130 years old and is a world leader in the oatmeal segment. Quaker Oats is a 100% wholegrain and natural source of carbohydrates and dietary fibre. It has strong heart health benefits and has a soluble fibre called ßeta Glucan, which is scientifically proven to help reduce cholesterol. In India, Quaker Oats are also available in variants such as Quaker Nutri Foods, Quick Cooking Oats, Oats Plus and a range of flavoured oats, including Chaat Style, Curry Magic, Homestyle Masala, Kesar flavour with Kishmish, Strawberry flavour with Apple and Tomato Veggie Surprise.

About PepsiCo India:

PepsiCo entered India in 1989 and has grown to become one of the largest MNC food and beverage businesses in India. PepsiCo India has been consistently investing in the country and has built an expansive beverage and snack food business supported by 62 plants across foods and beverages. PepsiCo India’s diverse portfolio includes iconic brands like Pepsi, Lay’s, Kurkure, Tropicana 100%, Gatorade and Quaker.

PepsiCo’s growth in India has been guided by “Performance with Purpose”- our fundamental belief that the success of our company is inextricably linked to the sustainability of the world around. We believe that continuously improving the products we sell, operating responsibly to protect our planet and empowering people around the world is what enables PepsiCo to run a successful global company that creates long-term value for society and our shareholders. In 2009, PepsiCo India achieved a significant milestone, by becoming the first business to achieve ‘Positive Water Balance’ in the beverage world, a fact verified by Deloitte Touché Tohmatsu India Pvt. Ltd. The company has been Water Positive since then. For more information, please visit www.pepsicoindia.co.in

About Smile Foundation:

Smile Foundation is a national development organisation directly benefitting over 400,000 children and their families every year, through more than 200 live welfare projects on education, healthcare, livelihood and women empowerment, in over 950 remote villages and slums across 25 states of India.To know more, please visit www.smilefoundationindia.org

For further information contact:

Madhushanan | 9840180356 | Madhusudhanan.B@edelman.com

Swati Mehra | 9958477331 | swati.mehra@edelman.com

Priya Dhawan | 9811319602 | priya.dhawan@edelman.com

New Delhi, March 10, 2017 : On the occasion of International women’s day on March 8th, Mrs. Janki Vasant, a well-known social activist and partner of Smile Foundation, received the prestigious Nari Shakti Puraskar, the highest award offered nationally to a woman in individual capacity for outstanding work done towards women upliftment.

Samvedana, the brainchild of Mrs. Janki Vasant, is an NGO working for the betterment of slum children and women in Ahmedabad, Gujarat and associated with Smile Foundation in the capacity of social venture philanthropy partner.

Smile Foundation, believes in the ability of grassroots NGOs to bring real change in the community. The Social Venture Philanthropy (SVP) model is inspired and based on the successful business model of “Venture Capital” to the social and development sector. Under the Social Venture Philanthropy (SVP) model, Smile Foundation identifies handholds and builds capacities of genuine grassroots NGOs to achieve accountability, sustainability, scalability, leadership. Smile Foundation provides seed money for launch of new projects, expansion of old projects, and also emphasizes on regular counselling, better productivity, efficiency enhancement and capacity building of grassroots NGO’s, communication and process of Good Governance.

Smile Foundation is one of the very few development organizations in India that has been doing this exercise of handholding and building the capacities of genuine grassroots since its inception.

Speaking on this occasion Mrs. Janki Vasant, said “I feel extremely honoured to receive this award and for the recognition. I would like to express my feeling of gratitude to Smile Foundation for being the backbone of Samvedana and for changing hundreds and thousands of lives by supporting many small and genuine organizations like Samvedana. ”

“Heartiest congratulation to Mrs. Janki Vasant for this recognition and humbled to witness the success of the SVP model that is enabling thousands of grassroots NGOS to be self-sustained and creating history.” Mr. Santanu Mishra, Co-Founder and Executive Trustee, Smile Foundation.

So, far Smile Foundation has built capacities for 500 NGOs under the social venture philanthropy model.

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 158 welfare projects on subjects such as education, healthcare, youth employability, 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.

For more information, please visit : www.smilefoundationindia.org

First dedicated e-learning portal for grassroots NGOs to enable self-sustainability of local community welfare projects

 

New Delhi, February 23, 2017 : Development is always bottom-up. As we move forward to a “Digital India”, it is important that benefits of improved access to technology and internet reach the very bottom of the socio-economic pyramid. It is equally vital that digitalisation is integrated with the larger objective of meeting the long-term development goals at the grassroots level. Unfortunately, the development sector has remained untouched so far by the digital advancements in the country and continues to struggle with sustenance challenges due to various internal and external factors.

During the last couple of decades, India has emerged as a progressive economy amidst global meltdown, shrugging off the title of a developing economy. Consequently, the interest of funding agencies from developed countries, which earlier invested in welfare initiatives in India, has shifted towards conflict zones and poorer countries.

Of late, there have been various developments within the country like CSR being made mandatory for corporates, increased spending capacity of the middle class that has opened up hitherto unavailable resource avenues for development sector. Corporate or individual donors or government bodies have ample resources which can be channelized to achieve developmental outcomes while also ensuring optimal utilisation of funds.

While larger organisations or INGOs are able to tap into donor resources, such funds remain out of reach for grassroots NGOs and CBOs as they are unable to meet the high expectations of these donors. This happens due to their internal organisational unpreparedness and lack of proper management system, communication and mobilisation skills. This expectation mismatch can become a big impediment and often lead to non-delivery at the ground.

The growth of the non-profit sector in India has been unprecedented. At present there are 3.3 million NGOs in the country, with majority of them working at the grassroots level. Engaging directly with the people, these organisations have the potential to participate in moulding behavioural processes of communities for bringing long-term change. But the lack of a proper training and monitoring body hinders their good intentions and hard work.

“Ideally, grassroots NGOs and CBOs should become an interface between the community and the government, helping implement the schemes and policies to the last mile and reflecting the gaps by becoming the voice of the community. But to make this possible, there is an imminent need to incubate and handhold grassroots NGOs”, says Mr. Santanu Mishra, Co-Founder & Executive Trustee, Smile Foundation.

As a step in this direction, and to help the local community welfare projects reap benefits of “Digital India” at the very grassroots, Smile Foundation has partnered with the Dutch development organisation Wilde Ganzen, to launch the international capacity building initiative.

Change the Game Academy (CTG Academy) in India. This is a first of its kind e-learning portal specially created for, and dedicated to build the capacities of, grassroots NGOs and CBOs.

The focus of CTG Academy would be on strengthen the capacities of grassroots organisations in three main domains: organisational capacity, local fundraising, and mobilising support. Majorly, it would enable the grassroots NGOs to raise support locally and diversify their resources, so that community welfare initiatives can become self-sustainable and their impact becomes long-lasting.

“We will take Change the Game Academy to 30 different cities pan-India and shall work closely with CBOs and NGOs involved in crucial developmental projects like education, health and livelihood. The idea is to help them forge positive partnerships with multiple stakeholders like the local authorities, corporate, government and institutions, and channelizing the collective efforts to bring sustainable development at the community level”, adds Mr. Mishra.

The e-learning platform has easy modules where representatives from the CBOs and grassroots NGOs can learn and complete the courses at their own pace and convenience. The modules have been designed by international experts and adapted to suit the Indian context by Smile Foundation. Along with the modules, the portal has toolkits, inspiring case studies from across the world and an extensive library. Taking a comprehensive approach, the programme will also parallelly have face to face training sessions where the CBOs and grassroots NGOs will get an opportunity to learn directly from experts.

Besides India, the programme will also be launched in Brazil, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and South Africa.

For more information, please visit : www.smilefoundationindia.org

PR Newswire

NEW DELHI, July 21, 2017

NEW DELHI, July 21, 2017 /PRNewswire/ —

– Honor joins hands with Smile Foundation to empower underprivileged girl children

– Ties up with ace designer Rina Dhaka

– Chance to win the stunning new Honor 8 Pro and meet the Smile Ambassador Huma Qureshi

Honor, Huawei’s Smartphone e-brand for digital natives, today announced its partnership with the Smile Foundation, one of the premier NGOs in the country dedicated to directly benefitting over 400,000 children and their families every year and ace designer Rina Dhaka, as a part of the ‘Honor the Smile’ initiative.

Honor is a brand for the young, and young at heart and has always taken up meaningful associations that appeal to the youth and spurs them to action. ‘Honor the Smile’ is an initiative where the brand will be collaborating with Smile Foundation to raise awareness for girl child empowerment. Honor recently launched the Honor 8 Pro, which is touted as the best camera phone with 4th generation dual cameras. Building on its camera capabilities further, the ‘Honor the Smile’ campaign was designed to raise awareness about the cause through photo sharing. The reward for participants was a chance to win the stunning new Honor 8 Pro and meet the Smile Ambassador Huma Qureshi, who is slated to also be the showstopper for Rina Dhaka’s exclusive preview during the Couture Week.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Santanu Mishra, Co-founder and Executive Trustee, Smile Foundation said, “Style has a universal language, but the key really lies in who can translate it to create a positive impact, and this is just what we have attempted to do in partnership with Honor for the ‘Honor the Smile’ initiative where you get a chance to do your bit for the development of underprivileged children.”

Sunil Sethi, President Fashion Design Council of India said, “I have heard great things about the work done by the Smile Foundation and we are delighted that our designer Rina Dhaka along with Honor is collaborating with them. ‘Honor the Smile’ is a campaign which supports the upliftment of the girl child and we at FDCI are happy to support this cause.”

Here’s a chance for everyone to be a part of this initiative and spread the smile.

About Honor:

Honor is a leading smartphone e-brand under the Huawei Group. In line with its slogan, ‘For the Brave’, the brand was created to meet the needs of digital natives through Internet-optimized products that offer superior user experiences, inspire action, foster creativity and empower the young to achieve their dreams. In doing this, Honor has set itself apart by showcasing its own bravery to do things differently and to take the steps needed to usher in the latest technologies and innovations for its customers. Honor led the online smartphone market with a global shipment value of 2.5 billion USD to become the number 1 online smartphone brand, as per International Data Corporation (IDC) in Q1 2017. Huawei’s Consumer Business Group, comprising of its dual brands Huawei and Honor, shipped 139 million smartphones globally in 2016 and reported an increase of 44% in its annual revenue.

About Smile Foundation:

Smile Foundation is a national level development organization benefitting over 400,000 underprivileged children, their families and the community directly through 250 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.

Pledge to support girl child education on Independence Day: hold rides across 14 Indian cities

#AddHope joins the cause along with #QuakerFeedAChild at Crowne Plaza Today, Gurugram

Bringing Digital India to grassroots NGOs and CBOs

Mumbai, December 25, 2017 : In a one of its kind of attempt to understand and directly connect with the children of underprivileged sections of the society, renowned bollywood actor Ms. Kangana Ranaut joined hands with Smile Foundation and has pledged support to the cause of nutrition under # Quaker Feed A Child initiative.

Quaker India, in association with Smile Foundation, brought its #Quaker Feed A Child program – an initiative that aims to further the cause of nutrition support among children by providing underprivileged children with a nutritious meal.

The well-known actor spent considerable time with the children of Smile Foundation, raised awareness on the importance ofnutritious food and have taken an oath to support the cause of nutrition. Also, at this occasion Ms. Kangana Ranaut presented gifts to the children, cut Christmascake and also served a nutritious meal to children atPa PaYa, a well-known restaurant in Mumbai.

The occasion provided a wonderful platform to the child beneficiaries of Smile Foundation to share the same stage with Ms. Kangana Ranaut. As an expression of their gratitude, children presented hand crafted gifts. Speaking on this occasion, Ms. Kangana Ranaut said “India is one of the world’s highest demographics suffering from the problem of malnutrition. The problem of hunger and malnutrition in India cannot be solved in a day, and it requires the support of the civil society to eradicate this social menace. If we all make an effort to bring a smile to even one child, I think we’ll get the true blessings we yearn for in the festivities. That’s the core of Quaker Feed a Child and I am happy to be a part of it.”

“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 Ms. Kangana Ranaut for her 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 more than 250 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.

Website :http://www.smilefoundationindia.org/

Facebook : www.facebook.com/smilefoundationindia.org

Twitter : https://twitter.com/smilefoundation

Mumbai 3rd April 2018 : Smile Foundation, a national level development organisation and The Pomegranate Workshop present the culmination of a dynamic arts program at The Maulana Azad School, Dharavi on 11th April 2018 at 11 am.

Students of grades 5,6,7,8 at Maulana Azad School, supported under the Mission Education project of Smile Foundation,have been part of 2 arts based programs conducted by The Pomegranate Workshop – My Voice, My Community and Graphic Novel Making over the last 3 months.

On 11th April the students will present their Graphic Novel anthology and also exhibit all their art and paintings which they have worked on in the course of these two dynamic programs which focussed on stories and art from the community and neighbourhood.

The students will present the works themselves, including a beautiful wall painting which they accomplished during the program.

About My Voice, My Community : This arts based program had the students exploring their own neighbourhood, the inhabitants, streets, shops and people stories which they then translated into art of their own. Right from three dimensional forms to cityscape cutouts and an entire wall painting, the students have spared no effort to translate their perspective through paints and various other materials to tell their story. The lead facilitator for this module is Madhumita Srivastava, an architect and graphic designer who completed her post graduation from Parsons Design School, New York.

About Graphic Novel Making : The students reflected on stories they want to tell, scenes they would like to depict even as they practised the skills of sketching, understanding body postures, depicting objects as well as the grammar of comics which include understanding comic panels, interaction of image and text and genres of comics to tell their stories. The lead facilitator for the Graphic Novel module is Chaitanya Modak, a comic book creator, designer and alumni of the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad.

Venue for the exhibition – Maulana Azad School, Opp block No 5, Transit Camp, Rajiv Gandhi Nagar, Dharavi (near Dharavi police station)

About Smile Foundation :

Smile Foundation is a national level development organization benefitting directly over 600,000 children and their families every year, through more than 250 live welfare projects on education, healthcare, livelihood and women empowerment, in over 950 remote villages and slums 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 The Pomegranate Workshop :

The Pomegranate Workshop is a Mumbai-based arts education company that has, for the last eleven years, worked with leading schools to deliver co-curricular arts programming. Pomegranate’s student theatre productions have been featured at the National Center for the Performing Arts, Mumbai and in 2016, Pomegranate’s Antigone 2.0 was picked in the top 10 Theatre Picks of Mumbai by the Mumbai Theatre Guide. In 2015, 2016 and 2017, Pomegranate’s student films have made it to an aggregate of 15 International Film festivals including Norway, Los Angeles, Turkey, Kenya, Bucharest and have won several awards including ‘Best Film’ in the youth category at the 19th International Childrens Film Festival of India (ICFFI). Pomegranate has worked with the National Gallery of Modern Art, The Prince of Wales Museum and has conducted several learning events in collaboration with the Australian Consulate in Mumbai. Pomegranate works with several large education NGOs on capacity building programs.