“As an agency that’s striven to transform the real estate industry we couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate a decade in business than to partner with David and Miles for Smiles to radically alter 100 children’s lives by sponsoring lifesaving corrective surgery,” says Bruce Swain, MD of Leapfrog Property Group.
Every three minutes, a child is born with a cleft lip or cleft palate, and is often unable to eat, speak, socialise or smile. These debilitating disabilities can be corrected with surgeries lasting as little as 45 minutes.
Established in 1982, Operation Smiles is now active in 60 countries worldwide, where it changes lives with the help of volunteer medical personnel and donations from around the world. Local extreme adventurer, David Grier, who is known for running the Great Wall of China, is also a trustee and ambassador for Miles for Smiles (a project run by the CIPLA Foundation SA to assist Operation Smiles with fundraising). Over the past 10 years Miles for Smiles has raised R8m, enabling 2,000-plus children to receive these much-needed surgeries.
Also formed 10 years ago in 2007, the Leapfrog Property Group, since its inception, has supported several charitable projects, both nationally and on a franchise level, including One Sight – a national NGO that supplies eye care to those who could not otherwise afford it – and the Dental Wellness Trust which teaches dental healthcare and provides dental services to the children of Khayelitsha in the Western Cape.
“From the onset, we have and continue to believe in pioneering the extraordinary by partnering with incredible people and initiatives such as David Grier and Miles for Smiles. Through the further pledge and commitment of each one of our agents and members of staff, we are delighted to be able to provide funding over a 10-month period for 100 children to undergo this life-changing surgery, as a result of our first 10 incredible years in the industry. We are calling this combined effort: Leapfrog Smiles: To the Power of 10.”
For more info on the campaign, go to www.leapfrogsmiles.co.za.
