How to Make a Smile
Make A Smile Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit public charity whose primary purpose is to sponsor programs to benefit children in need, aged 4 to 8. For more than three decades we have been organizing the Make A Smile Foundation Annual Holiday Shopping Spree where the children, accompanied by adult volunteers, shop for toys and holiday gifts at a Target store with money provided by the Foundation. Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, we have added more Holiday Shopping Sprees as well as Spring and Fall Clothing Shopping Sprees to our repertoire.
The children who attend the Sprees are identified as “in need” through their participation in free or subsidized lunch programs at their local schools. Our goal is to create fun and memorable events for children who would not normally have this opportunity.
The core component of Make A Smile is the volunteers that assist at our events. These dedicated individuals help the children shop, assist with wrapping gifts during the Holiday Sprees and tend to the childrens’ needs during each event. At our annual Holiday Spree in Milltown, NJ, there are approximately fifty volunteers who attend every year, so that the ratio of volunteers to children is nearly one to one. Since the safety of the children is our number one priority, every child and volunteer get color-coded name badges. Additionally, as each parent leaves the venue, they receive a unique “identifier” that they must use to retrieve their child after the event.
The children who attend the Sprees are identified as “in need” through their participation in free or subsidized lunch programs at their local schools. Our goal is to create fun and memorable events for children who would not normally have this opportunity.
The core component of Make A Smile is the volunteers that assist at our events. These dedicated individuals help the children shop, assist with wrapping gifts during the Holiday Sprees and tend to the childrens’ needs during each event. At our annual Holiday Spree in Milltown, NJ, there are approximately fifty volunteers who attend every year, so that the ratio of volunteers to children is nearly one to one. Since the safety of the children is our number one priority, every child and volunteer get color-coded name badges. Additionally, as each parent leaves the venue, they receive a unique “identifier” that they must use to retrieve their child after the event.
The Make A Smile Foundation is committed to increasing the number of events in order to provide even more children with an experience they will treasure.
If you would like more information about the Make A Smile Foundation,
feel free to email us at [email protected]
feel free to email us at [email protected]