PPA Charities, the charitable arm of Professional Photographers of America, has announced that Hubert Gentry, owner of Gentry Photography in Harrisonburg, is one of 48 PPA members to earn the designation as an “Operation Smile Studio” for 2012.
This honor was given to those photographers who donated $240 or more through the organization’s first “Celebration of Smiles Day” that raised $46,581 to benefit Operation Smile, its charitable partner. Operation Smile provides free surgeries for children around the world who suffer with cleft lip, cleft palate, and other facial deformations.
“These funds will go a long way toward meeting the 2012 goal of raising $120,000 for this wonderful organization,” Gentry said. As of July 1, PPA Charities’ 2012 fund-raising total stands at $72,180. Because Operation Smile’s medical professionals and support staff volunteer their services, it costs only $240 to provide a simple cleft lip surgery to a child in desperate need. Therefore the funds raised by PPA members so far in 2012 means that over 300 smiles will be saved.
The Celebration of Smiles Day promotion provided consumers with the opportunity to receive a mini-session and a 5×7 professional portrait in exchange for a donation to Operation Smile of only $24; therefore, for every 10 sessions photographed by a participating studio, another smile could be saved by the volunteer professionals of Operation Smile.
Next year’s Celebration of Smiles Day is scheduled for April 6, 2013.
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