Visitors to the interactive giving experience learned how they can, literally, give back in a snap by turning something they do every day – taking a photo – into a way to raise funds and awareness for causes they care about.   For every photo shared through the app, Johnson & Johnson donates $1 to one of its trusted non-profit partners, chosen by the user from a rotating list of causes.

Anyone can participate by downloading the Donate a Photo app from the Apple App Store or through Google Play.  From there, it’s as simple as picking a cause to support, uploading a photo and sharing on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using the handle @DonateaPhoto and #JNJ, #DonateaPhoto, #365DaysofCare or #DonateEveryday.

“Funds raised through Donate a Photo are just a small part of our long-standing commitment to caring for and supporting children and families around the world,” said Michael Sneed, Vice President, Global Corporate Affairs for Johnson & Johnson. 

Giving campaigns for the organizations featured at today’s event will stay active on the Donate a Photo app until the fundraising goal of 50,000 photos shared (or $50,000) each is met.

“What I love about Donate a Photo is that it’s a way for us to raise awareness and activate the power of social media on behalf of our nonprofit partners,” said Sneed.  “You can donate one photo every day and share it out on your social media channels. Compounded over weeks, months and years, the potential exposure and impact is immeasurable.”

The Causes
Here’s how Donate a Photo will help support the efforts of these nonprofit partners:

• Operation Smile: All funds donated through Donate a Photo to Operation Smile go to support life changing surgeries for children around the world with cleft lip, cleft palate or other facial deformities. It takes 240 photos to provide a safe surgery that will help one child eat, speak, and smile with confidence. Goal: 208 surgeries
• Save the Children: All funds donated through Donate a Photo to Save the Children go to support its Early Steps to School Success program, which helps provide parents and caregivers with the training and tools they need to create a stimulating environment for their child, and give them a strong start in learning, and in life. It takes 50 photos for an early childhood specialist to train a parent. Goal: 1000 training sessions
• United Service Organizations (USO): All funds donated through Donate a Photo to the USO’s connectivity services which provide video calls and phone calls for deployed service members, helping them to stay connected with their loved ones. Each photo helps provide 30 minutes of a video or phone call home for a deployed service member. Goal: 25,000 hours of calls
• Girl Up: All funds donated through Donate a Photo to Girl Up will support Girl Up’s SchoolCycle program. After a successful launch in Malawi last year, Girl Up will now be expanding the program to Guatemala, providing bicycles to girls who often drop out of school because of long and dangerous commutes.  Bicycles provide a safer, easier way to travel to school, so these girls can continue their education and help provide a brighter future for themselves, their families and their communities. It takes 125 photos to help provide one bicycle to a girl so she can complete her education. Goal: 400 bicycles

The Impact
Since its inception in April 2013, more than 800,000 photos have been donated by more than 85,000 users benefiting 50 nonprofit partners.  Users can select from a rotating list of causes that have helped millions of women, children and families around the world. 

“Donate a Photo also allows Johnson & Johnson to be quick in responding to situations that put people at risk, such as the earthquake in Nepal or the children in the Syrian refugee crisis,” said Sneed.  “This type of support is central to our company mission.”

Previous donations have been used to help send students to nursing school, protect children from bullying, give homeless children happier birthdays, provide life-saving medicine for infants, help a wounded veteran, provide financial and educational services to low-income women and get clean water for a village.

Johnson & Johnson has curated a list of trusted causes, and users can donate a photo to one cause, once a day. Each cause will appear in the app until it reaches its goal, or the donation period ends. If the goal isn’t reached, the cause will still get a minimum donation.

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About Johnson & Johnson:
Caring for the world, one person at a time, inspires and unites the people of Johnson & Johnson.  We embrace research and science - bringing innovative ideas, products and services to advance the health and well-being of people.  Our approximately 128,000 employees at more than 265 Johnson & Johnson operating companies work with partners in health care to touch the lives of over a billion people every day, throughout the world.

About Operation Smile
Operation Smile is an international medical charity whose global network of thousands of credentialed medical volunteers from more than 80 countries is dedicated to helping improve the health and lives of children from more than 60 countries. Since its founding in 1982, Operation Smile has provided more than 240,000 free surgical procedures for children and young adults born with cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformities. To build long-term sufficiency in resource poor environments, Operation Smile trains doctors and local medical professionals in its partner countries so they are empowered to treat their local communities and help others around the world. Operation Smile also donates medical equipment and supplies and provides year-round medical treatments through its worldwide centers. Operation Smile is fortunate to count Zachary Levi as a Smile Ambassador who devotes much time and energy doing philanthropic work through his company The Nerd Machine and his annual comic con event NERD HQ.

About Save the Children
Save the Children invests in childhood – every day, in times of crisis and for our future. In the United States and around the world, we are dedicated to ensuring every child has the best chance for success. Our pioneering programs give children a healthy start, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. Our advocacy efforts provide a voice for children who cannot speak for themselves. As the leading expert on children, we inspire and achieve lasting impact for millions of the world’s most vulnerable girls and boys. By transforming children’s lives now, we change the course of their future and ours.

About Girl Up
Girl Up, the United Nations Foundation’s adolescent girl campaign, supports the empowerment of girls everywhere.  Since its launch in 2010, the campaign has funded UN programs that promote the health, safety, education, and leadership of girls in developing countries and built a community of nearly half a million passionate advocates - including Girl Up Global Advocates Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan and Latin American business leader Angélica Fuentes.  Our youth leaders, representing more than 1200 Girl Up Clubs in 66 countries, stand up, speak up, and rise up to support the hardest to reach girls living in places where it is hardest to be a girl.  Learn more at GirlUp.org.

About the USO
The USO strengthens America’s military service members by keeping them connected to family, home and country, throughout their service to the nation. At hundreds of locations worldwide, we are united in our commitment to connect our service members and their families through countless acts of caring, comfort, and support. The USO is a private, non-profit organization, not a government agency. Its programs, services and entertainment tours are made possible by the American people, support of our corporate partners and the dedication of our volunteers and staff.

Contact: Samira Shamoon, 917.767.8035, [email protected]