This September, Some Kids Start School With Empty Hands.
Help us put a backpack and supplies into a child's hands in rural Iran, before the first day of class. 100% of your gift is delivered, and you'll see the photos.
Every child deserves a full table and a chance to learn.
Gift a Smile is a volunteer-run initiative dedicated to supporting orphaned children, widowed mothers, and families in remote and underserved communities across Iran. We are ordinary people who care, no offices, no salaries, just volunteers giving their time to make a difference. Through seasonal food drives and back-to-school supply campaigns, we ensure that no family is forgotten and no child goes without.
We don't take a percentage. We don't have overhead. 100% of every donation is spent on the people who need it and every donor receives a full distribution report so you can see exactly where your money went.
This September, some children start school with empty hands. Let’s change that.
A new school year is beginning for children in remote communities. For many families, a backpack and a set of supplies is out of reach. A small gift from us means a child walks in ready to learn, on the very first day.
This year we are aiming higher, to reach more classrooms than ever before. Every backpack, notebook, and pencil is purchased locally and delivered directly into children’s hands before the first day of class.
Time Remaining
Supplies must be purchased and delivered before classes begin on September 20, 2026.
What Your Donation Provides
Notebooks, pens, and pencils for one child
A full backpack kit for one child
Complete kits for two children
Every gift equips a child to learn
Choose an amount above, or give any amount that feels right.
e-Transfer opens your email app with the details filled in. Send it via your bank’s Interac e-Transfer to donations4kids2022@gmail.com.
“A backpack, for us, is a child’s whole future.”
Your generosity reaches those who need it most.
Orphaned Children
Thousands of children across Iran have lost one or both parents. Many live with extended family members who are barely getting by. Our campaigns provide these children with food during holidays and supplies to stay in school.
Widowed Mothers
Widowed mothers in Iran often face extreme financial hardship with little to no support system. Our campaigns help them put food on the table during Nowruz and Ramadan, and school supplies in their children’s hands each September.
Remote & Rural Families
Some of Iran’s most vulnerable communities are in remote, mountainous villages that major aid organizations overlook entirely. We reach these forgotten families directly, delivering aid to doorsteps that no one else visits.
Every campaign tells a story. Here’s what your generosity has made possible.
Nowruz & Ramadan Food Drive 2024
Delivered essential food baskets, including rice, oil, beans, and soya, to over 200 families across remote villages in Iran. Widowed mothers and orphaned children received meals that allowed them to celebrate with dignity.
200+ families fed· $3,000 raised
Nowruz & Ramadan Food Drive 2024
Delivered essential food baskets, including rice, oil, beans, and soya, to over 200 families across remote villages in Iran. Widowed mothers and orphaned children received meals that allowed them to celebrate with dignity.
200+ families fed· $3,000 raised
Back to School Charity 2024
Rising costs in Iran leave countless families unable to afford basic school supplies. We're raising funds to provide backpacks and essential supplies to children in need, giving them the chance to build a brighter future.
300+ children equipped · $3,000 raised
Back to School Charity 2024
Rising costs in Iran leave countless families unable to afford basic school supplies. We're raising funds to provide backpacks and essential supplies to children in need, giving them the chance to build a brighter future.
300+ children equipped · $3,000 raised
Nowruz & Ramadan Food Drive 2025
Building on the success of our first drive, we reached even more families in underserved rural communities. Every donor received a full distribution report documenting the deliveries.
200+ families supported · $2,000 raised
Nowruz & Ramadan Food Drive 2025
Building on the success of our first drive, we reached even more families in underserved rural communities. Every donor received a full distribution report documenting the deliveries.
200+ families supported · $2,000 raised
Back-to-School Supply Drive 2025
We provided backpacks and essential school supplies to over 200 children in need. Many of these children were at risk of dropping out simply because their families couldn’t afford basic materials. Your donations kept them in school.
200+ children equipped · $2,000 raised
Back-to-School Supply Drive 2025
We provided backpacks and essential school supplies to over 200 children in need. Many of these children were at risk of dropping out simply because their families couldn’t afford basic materials. Your donations kept them in school.
200+ children equipped · $2,000 raised
Nowruz + Ramadan 2026 Emergency Food Campaign
Delivered 200 food baskets, 10 kg of rice, cooking oil, lentils, macaroni, and soya each, to families in villages and rural districts around Isfahan in the final days before Nowruz. Every basket cost $19.71 to fill, and rice alone took 72% of the budget.
200 families fed · $3,000 raised, $3,941.82 delivered
View Full Report →Nowruz + Ramadan 2026 Emergency Food Campaign
Delivered 200 food baskets, 10 kg of rice, cooking oil, lentils, macaroni, and soya each, to families in villages and rural districts around Isfahan in the final days before Nowruz. Every basket cost $19.71 to fill, and rice alone took 72% of the budget.
200 families fed · $3,000 raised, $3,941.82 delivered
View Full Report →
Back to School Charity 2026
Currently raising funds to provide backpacks and school supplies to children in remote communities before the first day of class. 100% goes to notebooks, pens, and backpack kits.
$5,000 goal
Back to School Charity 2026
Currently raising funds to provide backpacks and school supplies to children in remote communities before the first day of class. 100% goes to notebooks, pens, and backpack kits.
$5,000 goal
Every campaign is documented. Every donor receives a report. Every dollar is accounted for.
Numbers that represent real people.
Families Fed During Nowruz & Ramadan
Children Equipped for School
Campaigns Completed & Active
Raised for Families in Need
Every donor receives a full distribution report: photos, quantities, and receipts.
Giving takes less than two minutes.
Send Your Donation
Donate any amount via PayPal or Interac e-Transfer. Your full donation goes directly to the cause.
We Purchase & Deliver
Our team on the ground in Iran purchases food baskets or school supplies in bulk and delivers them directly to families in remote and underserved areas. No warehouses. No admin layers.
You Receive a Report
After delivery is complete, every donor receives a full distribution report with photos, quantities, and delivery details, so you can see exactly where your money went.
Send Your Donation
Donate any amount via PayPal or Interac e-Transfer. Your full donation goes directly to the cause.
We Purchase & Deliver
Our team on the ground in Iran purchases food baskets or school supplies in bulk and delivers them directly to families in remote and underserved areas. No warehouses. No admin layers.
You Receive a Report
After delivery is complete, every donor receives a full distribution report with photos, quantities, and delivery details, so you can see exactly where your money went.
e-Transfer opens your email app with the details filled in. Send it via your bank’s Interac e-Transfer to donations4kids2022@gmail.com.
Become a monthly supporter.
Our campaigns are seasonal, but need isn’t. A small monthly gift, even $5 or $10, lets us plan ahead, buy earlier, and reach more children every season instead of scrambling each time.
Friend
$5 / mo
Over a year, that’s about equips 2–3 children with school supplies over a year.
Supporter★
$10 / mo
Over a year, that’s about equips about 5 children for school, or feeds a family through both seasons.
Sustainer
$25 / mo
Over a year, that’s about helps sustain a family across every campaign, all year.
In your online banking, send an Interac e-Transfer to donations4kids2022@gmail.com, and choose “recurring” or “scheduled/monthly” when your bank offers it. Add “Monthly Circle” in the message. Most Canadian banks let you set a monthly repeat, and you can change or stop it anytime from your own bank.
Gift a Smile is a volunteer-led community group, not a registered charity. Donations aren’t tax-deductible. What you get instead is proof: monthly members receive a short impact update every quarter, plus our full campaign reports.
How We Work
Why We Do This
Gift a Smile started with a simple refusal: to watch families in the communities we come from go without, and do nothing.
We’re not a big organization. We’re about a dozen volunteers: a team abroad and two teams on the ground in Iran, who find the families most in need, buy the supplies ourselves, carry them to the door, and document what we can. When this spring’s food campaign cost more than we raised, we covered the difference out of our own pockets rather than help fewer families. We’ll always tell you the true numbers, even when they’re not round.
If you give, you’re not sending money into the unknown. You’re trusting real people to show up, and we will.
Mary, on behalf of the Gift a Smile volunteers
Finding the Families
A team of 6, in Iran
They identify families in the hardest circumstances: orphaned children, widowed mothers, remote rural households. They run the due diligence to confirm real need, then hand-deliver the baskets and kits door to door in villages larger organizations overlook.
Buying & Packing
A team of 3, in Iran
They purchase supplies in bulk from large distributors, not retail, and prepare each basket or school kit. Buying at distributor prices means your donation stretches further and reaches more families for the same dollar.
Running the Campaign
A team of 3–4, abroad
They handle fundraising, the website, donor communication, and the distribution reports you receive, so every dollar is raised transparently and accounted for end to end.
We Document With Respect
Every donor receives a report with photos from each delivery, but you won’t see a photo of every single family, and that’s on purpose. Some families don’t wish to be photographed, and we never trade a person’s dignity for proof. We take only what people consent to, we never show a child in a way that could identify or endanger them, and we share enough: the supplies, the packing, the delivery, so you can see exactly where your money went.
We don’t just promise transparency. We prove it.
100% Donation Model
We take nothing for ourselves. No salaries, no admin fees, no platform cuts. Every dollar you give is spent on supplies, food, and delivery. Nothing else.
Full Distribution Reports
After every campaign, we compile a detailed report and send it to every donor. You’ll see photos, quantities, locations, and a breakdown of how funds were allocated.
Accountability
Trust is earned, not claimed. We document everything and share it openly. If we say we’ll deliver 200 backpacks, we show you 200 backpacks, with photos and receipts.
Frequently Asked Questions
We grow through people who care.
We’re a small volunteer team. Here’s how you can help beyond giving.
Become an Ambassador
The biggest thing you can do is share our campaigns with your circle. Tell us you’re in and we’ll send you ready-to-post photos and messages. You do the rest.
Lend a Skill
We can always use help with social media, design, translation (Farsi ↔ English), and photo editing. A few hours a month makes a real difference.
Host a Mini-Fundraiser
A birthday, a dinner, a workplace match: turn a moment into backpacks and food baskets. We’ll give you everything you need.
Join the Work on the Ground
Our teams in Iran grow carefully, through people we know and trust. If that’s you, email us and tell us about yourself.
Have a question? Want to get involved?
We’d love to hear from you.
Reach Out Directly
Whether you have questions about our campaigns, want to volunteer, or simply want to learn more, we are here for you.