Grant Applicant: The Smile Project

The feature below is brought to you by The Smile Project, an organization that is in the running to receive a See Beautiful Grant. For more information about all of our giving initiatives, please click here. 

To learn more about The Smile Project, please visit their website: here.

The [Story of the Smile] Project.

Wednesday, November 9th, 2011 was just like any other day in Western Pennsylvania. I was 17 years old and driving home from my high school, down the same back country roads I had ridden my entire life. It was unseasonably warm for November and I had my windows down and my radio up. I can tell you the exact curve on the exact street where I had the most crystal-clear thought of my entire life:

Day 1:
Happiness is.. those perfect car rides where the radio just plays all the right songs.

I was about to return to my radio sing-a-long when I realized what had just happened. It wasn’t a simple moment of thinking that it was a nice day. It was something telling me that this was Day 1, that Wednesday, November 9th, 2011 was about to be the start of something beautiful.

Like all 17-year-olds in 2011 when they think they have an idea to change the world, I logged onto Facebook and posted the status.

That was over 2,600 days ago. I have shared a single “Happiness is” status on Facebook every single day since.

Those early Facebook statuses – though I wouldn’t realize what was brewing at the time – grew into The Smile Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to spreading Happiness through random acts of kindness.

Happiness is.. those perfect car rides where the radio just plays all the right songs.

The Smile Project exists to encourage people of all ages to share kindness in their communities. One way this is implemented is through SPARK clubs. SPARK stands for “Strengthening Positivity and Reinforcing Kindness.” These random acts of kindness clubs are operated by young people in middle school, high school, and college. Since the launch of the SPARK initiative in 2016, students have partnered with local businesses and charities to create ripples of change in their communities. There are currently five active SPARK clubs.

With support from The Smile Project, they band together to share Happiness and find beauty in their communities and in each other. One college SPARK club hosts a free “Glow Yoga” class to help students destress. Another high school SPARK club is using social media for good – highlighting members of their school who are caught doing kind things for others.

By being a member of SPARK, these young people gain valuable leadership skills while also learning about the power of joy. By showing that no one is is ever too young to make a difference, we are empowering the next generation of leaders.

In the summer of 2018, The Smile Project embarked on a 56-day cross country tour, spreading joy around America. The working hypothesis was that no matter what we look like, what we believe in, where we live, or who we voted for, human kindness is something that runs through each of us.

The trip was designed as a giant “pay it forward” project, with one group gifting something to the next. For example, when we brought animal shelter donations to the Arizona Animal Welfare League in Phoenix, the staff handed us handwritten cards to bring to the veterans of the Travis Manion Foundation at our next stop in San Diego. Those same veterans collected school supplies which were given to the Skid Row Learning Center in Los Angeles.

The #SmileProjectRoadTrip highlighted the best of America and the best of humanity. We worked with over 30 organizations in 28 states, bought meals for over 35 people, delivered hundreds of animal supplies, donated over 200 articles of clothing, and even helped a lost dog get back to its owners.

The Smile Project has been featured in the Huffington Post as well as on news stations in Los Angeles, Portland, San Diego, and Omaha.

The Smile Project chooses to “see beautiful” in every day and in every person we meet. While every day may not be perfect, we choose to believe that every day affords us the opportunity to find an inkling of joy.

To learn more about The Smile Project, visit: www.the-smile-project.com.

Written by:

Liz Buechele, Founder of The Smile Project