Sm
iles Charity brought thousands of people and local businesses of McKinney Texas together for a concert with Bret Michaels over Memorial Day weekend in McKinney Texas to raise money and awareness for Brian Aft, a marine veteran injured in Afghanistan. One hundred percent of the proceeds of the event went towards building a home for Aft. Paul Salfen interviews Bret Michaels and Brian Aft for The Drew Pearson Show.
Smiles Charity was started by Dr. Jennifer Buchanan Dr. Jennifer Buchanan’s orthodontic practice has been in McKinney, Texas for 13 years. In 2001, she began hosting an annual “Smiles” party to benefit the local affiliate of Habitat for Humanity. In 2008, Dr. Buchanan took her Smiles Charity project to the next level by organizing a free outdoor concert open to the public.
In its first four years, Smiles Charity has helped build five homes through private contributions and corporate sponsorships for its headlining event, the Smiles Charity Concert and Family Festival which is held annually over Memorial Day weekend. The concert and festival underscore Smiles Charity’s mission of bringing the community together to change the world one home, one family at a time..
The Smiles Charity Concert and Festival features an outdoor concert on the main stage, a family friendly festival, a flyover by WWII airplanes, and a spectacular fireworks display at its conclusion. The main stage features 3 bands over the course of the five hour event, presentations to the families receiving homes, raffle drawings, and entertainment by celebrity emcees.
The festival includes a children’s area, food vendors, games and activities, and a VIP party for the top corporate sponsors. The children’s area contains bounce houses, face painting, and child appropriate video games.
Although there is a small operating fee is charged for admission to the children’s area, there is no admission charged to the general public for the concert which is held at the Adriatica Outdoor Concert Venue in McKinney. Local restaurants vie for limited but valuable space at the festival to sell their delights to concert goers.
The McKinney Police Department with Bret Michaels, Smiles Charity 2014. Photo by Erin Clark Design
