Hello, everyone! Today I have a special treat for you...an interview post with a friend of mine! Olivia is here to talk about an amazing organization called The Smile Project. I've been a member of TSP for almost two years, and I just love participating. I won't say any more, because she will tell you the rest. :) My questions are in the bold, and her answers are in the normal font. Please welcome Olivia Bell!
thanks for being here, olivia! to start out, would you give me a simple summary of the smile project?
We are a Christian women’s ministry of encouragement through the written word - aka happy mail! Every month we uplift someone in need through cards, letters and gifts.
tell me a bit about the requirements: does it cost anything, do you have to do all the projects, etc.?
Our only requirements to be a member are that you are a follower of Jesus, and that you are a woman! There is no cost in joining, and if you already have paper and stamps then you’re good to go! You are not required to contribute to every month’s project, just the ones God leads you to contribute to or you are able to.
what is the procedure for each month's project?
Once I have prayed over and chosen a recipient for the month from our list of nominees, I then contact the person who nominated the individual in need and they write about what the person or family is going through, how we can encourage and help them, how we can pray for them, things they enjoy, etc. I then take the information, get everything in order and then send out the email containing everything members need to know to participate on the first of every month.
what is your personal role in all of this as coordinator?
So I am co-founder, online operator and project coordinator. I run the online side of TSP, such as designing and keeping up the website, posting on our social media, collecting project nominations and getting the monthly projects going, replying to emails and messages, planning upcoming events and more.
how do you pick the recipient of each month's project?
So we have a list of future projects already available, people who have been nominated who someone thought would benefit from a smile project. I then pray over them beforehand and choose one for that month. On the 1st of the month I send out an email to our members detailing what that month’s nominee is going through and how you can help, where to send, the deadline and more. People who are contributing let me know, and we’re off!
i know that there's a large online community of ladies who do TSP. can you tell me a bit about that?
Yes! So we have 112 members of the Smile Project currently. It's a wonderful online community that keeps in touch and informed about our latest projects, etc. through our bi-monthly emails as well as through our blog. And yes, we have a large Google chat for members to share prayer requests, encourage one another, and more! It brings me joy to see how God has used TSP to bring ladies who love Jesus together across the US and Canada.
how can individuals support TSP?
Prayer is the biggest support you can give us! We appreciate prayer so very much. You can also support us financially. We accept donations to cover the cost of shipping final projects as well as purchasing special items and/or gift cards for our recipients. You can donate to us on our paypal, thesmileproject20@gmail.com, if the Lord leads. We are so grateful and blessed by your support of any kind.
what does one need to do to sign up?
Sign up is super easy, just check out our website here and shoot us a message on our contact page!
how does TSP glorify Jesus through all of this?
We glorify God in all we do as a ministry. Our members weave the Gospel message through all of their cards, letters and messages to our recipients - encouraging, uplifting and praying for each of them. We praise the Lord for the opportunity and honor we have to come alongside our brothers and sisters to lift them up and remind them that they are not alone - that God is for them and loves them and so do we.
Well, thank you so much for being here, Olivia! I hope that my readers will see this and maybe even be interested in signing up. Readers, if you have any more questions about The Smile Project, please just shoot them to the comments! We'd love to hear them. August is coming up fast, as is a new project, so make sure to sign up in time for that!
have you ever heard of the smile project? are you interested in becoming a member? do you enjoy snail mail/happy mail?
Toodeloo, friends!
~Lily May
My sister and I love making cards, so this sounds like something we could look into and pray about.
I've heard of TSP via Brownyn. I have thought about joining before, so maybe I should ask my mom. :)
This is the coolest thing ever. Like, so cool that reading through the blog posts almost made me cry. Thank you for all that you do, Olivia, and I hope that I can join you someday when life allows.
Ooh, I'm going to check out The Smile Project now - I love happy mail and snail mail so, this is right up my alley. Thanks for sharing, Lily!