Last weekend, my husband and I were invited to attend Smile Train and Lighthouse Club Manila’s fundraising event at The Common Table, Salcedo Village, Makati City.

Smile Train is the world’s leading cleft charity and they have partnered with a construction industry charity, Lighthouse Club Manila, to support their life-changing programs — to give comprehensive cleft care to children and offer scholarships to the Philippine construction community and its families.

The event was also held in commemoration of World Smile Day, an annual celebration every first Friday of October encouraging acts of kindness around the world.

The booming construction sector in the Philippines calls for industry players to support the overall welfare of its employees and extend benefits to their families. Through this partnership with Smile Train, we aim to highlight the importance of the industry’s workforce and their contribution to building infrastructure for the country’s long-term progress. — Lighthouse Club Manila Chairman, Mr. Samuel Powell.

Paintings from local artists including renowned sculptor and abstract painter Manuel Baldemor, figurative painter Nilo Badojos, and abstract artist Chris Pizzaro, were also auctioned off during the fundraiser.

I have my personal favorites from the valuable art pieces during the auction — paintings of John Lennon and Freddie Mercury. That was our (hubby & I) first time to witness an auction so we were really glad that we attended the event.

Guests were entertained by talented musical theater artists such as Laurence Mossman and Tricia Canilao from the local adaptation of Kinky Boots, Canilao’s daughter Ornella Canilao-Buser, and Natalia Santamaria Escano from Annie the Musical. 

As Smile Train celebrates its 20th Anniversary and bringing forever smiles to Filipinos, we recognize the role we play in uplifting lives and reaching out to more underserved sectors in our country. We look forward to partnering with more organizations that are passionate about our cause and vision of giving every child with a cleft the opportunity for a brighter future. — Kimmy Coseteng-Flaviano, Smile Train’s Area Director for Southeast Asia

Since 1999, Smile Train, with the support of its donors and partners around the world, have supported safe and quality cleft care for more than 1.5 million children and will continue to do so until every child in need with a cleft has access to the care they deserve.

For more information about Smile Train’s global efforts and to make a donation, please visit smiletrain.org.

Follow Smile Train on Twitter and Instagram @SmileTrainPh, and like us on Facebook at @SmileTrainPhilippines.

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. To learn more about how Smile Train’s sustainable approach means donations have both an immediate and long-term impact, please visit smiletrain.org.

About The Lighthouse Club Manila

Founded in 1996, Lighthouse Club Manila is the Philippine branch of the international construction industry charity that was first founded in the UK in 1956. The club has other branches throughout the UK and the Netherlands, in South East Asia, Australia, and the Middle East. Its main thrust is to foster good fellowship, camaraderie, and cooperation amongst members, as well as to funds to provide support, principally educational, to disadvantaged scholars selected from families working within the local construction industry.

Published: 2019-09-29 12:28:43