by Andrea Nies

World Smile Day, held on the first Friday of October, is a day dedicated to “good cheer and good works.” The idea behind this special day stemmed from the creation of the smiley face icon in 1963, now one of the most recognized symbols in the word.

World Smile Day (on October 2nd this year) has a mission: Do an act of kindness – help one person smile.

Harvey Ball created the smiley face image in 1963 as a freelance art project meant to boost employee morale for the State Mutual Life Assurance Company. Harvey’s smile symbol was used on buttons, cards and posters. He later reported this drawing took him 10 minutes, and he was paid just over $200 for the entire campaign. The likeness of his image grew in popularity, and by 1971 the smiley face was the hottest selling image in the country. According to www.worldsmileday.com, an estimated “fifty million smiley buttons alone had been sold, and the image appeared on countless other products” World Smile Day was created by Harvey in 1999 to help facilitate the mission of giving back. Let’s all dedicate some time this month to spread good cheer and Cheerful Givers is one great way to give back!

Flickr photo by Olivander

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