Dusit International Dubai Hotels raise over AED 2,500 for Operation Smiles

April 17, 2011 - PRLog -- Dusit Thani Dubai and Dusit Princess City Centre Dubai have both joined the Dusit International Corporate CSR programme to raise money for Operation Smile by supporting fund raising activities for international projects in Ethiopia and Kenya.

In 2010, Dusit International raised over US$ 32,000 for Operation Smile Thailand – Dusit International in the Middle East supports Operation Smile in Ethiopia and Kenya, and the Dubai hotels have embarked on a concerted campaign for 2011 to raise awareness and money to help change young lives in Africa.

Simple activities like smiling, eating and speaking are virtually impossible for children born with facial deformities such as cleft lips and cleft palates. Yet, owing to the efforts of Operation Smile (http://www.operationsmile.org), a worldwide foundation that provides operations and medical assistance for such conditions, millions of children are able to do so.

The first events held to raise funds were in collaboration with www.expatwoman.com and Mark Wilkinson Kitchens.  Dusit Thani Dubai sponsored the ladies cooking event in December with a festive themed demonstration and recipes.  In January 2011, Dusit Princess City Centre Thai executive chef Poonsak and his team created traditional Thai dishes for the ladies, and demonstrated the art of Thai fruit carving.

At these events organised by www.expatwoman.com for their members, the ladies are able to see, taste, ask questions and then take away the recipes as well as view the delightful kitchens offered by Mark Wilkinson!

The amount raised for the two events will change the lives of at least two to four children, covering the cost of surgery and recovery – as little as US$240 and 45 minutes can change a life.




Picture:  seen in the attached picture (L-R)
         James Wilson – General Manager Dusit Thani Dubai
         Chris Hodge – Mark Wilkinson Showroom Manager & Designer
         Dusit Thani Dubai Thai Cultural Ambassador
         Amanda McKeown – ExpatWoman
         Nick Bauer – General Manager Dusit Princess City Centre Dubai


About Dusit Smiles

Dusit International adopted Operation Smile as its company-wide corporate social responsibility initiative in early 2010. In November, an impressive US$32,000 was donated to the charity and the first Dusit operation mission was successfully held in Si Sa Ket, north-east Thailand. Assisted by Si Sa Ket Hospital, 72 children with facial deformities were treated.

The donation was raised from activities such as in-room Dusit Smiles envelopes, donation boxes throughout the hotels, charity auctions, salary donation and sports events. According to Chanin Donavanik, chief executive officer of Dusit International, the objective of the ongoing campaign is to “create smiles, change lives and provide a better future for the children”. The programme also enables Dusit to engage with local communities and “give opportunities to children to learn to grow, and to live with good health and happiness”, he says.

For more information, visit www.dusit.com/dusitsmiles